SEX  WORSHIPANO  SYMBOLISM 
OF  PRIMITIVE  RACES 


SANGER  BROWN.  IJ 


THE  SEX  WORSHIP  AND 
SYMBOLISM  OF  PRIM- 
ITIVE RACES 


^^1  OF  musi 

AN  INTERPRETATION 

MAY  20  1919 

SANGER  BROWN  II.,  M.  D.  vSl  s    ^ 

Assistant  Physician,  Bloomingdale  Hospital 
With  an  Introduction  by  James  H,  Leuha 


BOSTON:  RICHARD  G.  BADGER 

TORONTO:  THE  COPP  CLARK  CO.,  LIMITED 


Copyright  1916,  by  Richard  G.  Badger 
All  rights  reserved 


The  Gorham  Press,  Boston,  U.S.  A 


dedicated  to  my  wife 
Helen  Williston  Brown 


PREFACE 

THE  greater  part  of  the  first  three 
chapters  of  this  book  appeared 
in  the  Journal  of  Abnormal  Psy- 
chology in  the  December-Janu- 
ary number  of  1915-16  and  the 
February-March  number  of 
1916.  This  material  is  reprinted  here  by  the 
kind  permission  of  the  Editor  of  that  Journal. 
This  part  of  the  subject  is  chiefly  historical 
and  the  data  here  given  is  accessible  as  indi- 
cated by  the  references  throughout  the  text, 
although  many  of  these  books  are  difficult  to 
secure  or  are  out  of  print.  For  this  historical 
material  I  am  particularly  indebted  to  the 
writings  of  Har grave  Jennings,  Richard  Payne 
Knight  and  Doctor  Thomas  Inman.  Most  of 
the  reference  matter  coming  under  the  general 
heading  of  Nature  Worship  was  obtained  from 
comparatively  recent  sources,  such  as  the 
publications  of  the  Bureau  of  American  Eth- 
nology, of  the  Smithsonian  Institute,  and  cer- 
tain publications  of  the  American  Museum  of 
Natural  History.     Frazer's  Golden  Bough  and 

5 


6  Preface 

other  writings  of  J.  G.  Frazer  on  Anthropology 
furnished  much  valuable  information.  The 
writings  of  special  investigators,  among  others 
those  of  Spencer,  and  A.  W.  Howitt,  on 
Primitive  Australian  Tribes,  and  W.  H.  R. 
Rivers  on  the  Todas  have  been  freely  drawn 
upon.  A  number  of  other  books  and  references 
have  been  made  use  of,  as  indicated  through- 
out the  text.  I  have  found  two  books  by 
Miss  J.  Harrison,  i.  e.,  Themis  and  Ancient  Art 
and  Ritual,  of  great  value  in  interpreting 
primitive  ceremonies  and  primitive  customs 
in  general. 

My  main  object  has  been  to  give  the  life 
history  of  a  primitive  motive  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  race,  and  to  emphasize  the  dy- 
namic significance  of  this  motive.  Later  other 
motives  may  be  dealt  with  in  more  detail  if  it 
is  proved  that  both  in  normal  and  abnormal 
psychology  we  may  best  understand  the  men- 
tal development  of  the  individual  through  our 
knowledge  of  the  development  of  the  race. 

I  wish  to  take  this  opportunity  to  express 
my  appreciation  of  the  assistance  rendered  me 
by  my  wife. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I     Simple  Sex  Worship 13 

II     Symbolism 34 

III  Sun  Myths,  Mysteries  and  Deca- 

dent Sex  Worship 69 

IV  Interpretations 96 

References  and  Bibhography 137 

Index ^^^ 


INTRODUCTION 

OUR  knowledge  of  religion  receives 
contributions  from  every  quar- 
ter; even  the  student  of  mental 
diseases  finds  information  that 
is  of  service  to  the  student  of 
religion.  The  reverse  is  equally 
true:  a  knowledge  of  religion  sheds  light  upon 
even  the  science  of  mental  disorders. 

In  this  short  book,  a  psychiatrist  seeks  in 
the  study  of  one  aspect  of  religious  practice — 
the  worship  of  the  procreating  power — to  gain 
a  clearer  understanding  of  the  forms  taken 
by  certain  kinds  of  mental  diseases.  His 
theory  is  that  we  may  expect  diseased  minds 
to  reproduce,  or  return  to  expressions  of 
desire  customary  and  official  in  societies  of 
lower  culture.  This  is,  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
less  a  theory  than  a  statement  of  observed 
facts;  of  this,  the  reader  of  these  pages,  if 
familiar  with  certain  mental  disorders,  may 
readily  convince  himself. 

11 


12  Introduction 

But  Doctor  Brown's  intention  is  not  merely, 
perhaps  not  primarily,  to  draw  the  attention 
of  the  Psychiatrist  to  a  neglected  source  of 
information,  he  aims  at  something  of  wider 
import  and  addresses  a  wider  public.  His 
purpose  is  no  less  than  the  tracing  of  the  his- 
tory of  that  great  motive  of  action,  the  sex 
passion,  as  it  appears  in  religion  and  the  in- 
terpretation of  its  significance.  Those  who 
come  to  this  book  without  the  preparation  of 
the  specialist  will  find  it  not  only  replete  with 
novel  and  surprising  facts,  but  will  find  these 
facts  placed  in  such  a  relation  to  each  other 
and  to  life  in  general,  as  to  illuminate  both 
religion  and  human  nature.  This  important 
result  is  made  possible  by  the  point  of  view 
from  which  the  author  wTites,  the  point  of 
view  of  racial  development  which  has  proved 
its  fertility  in  so  many  directions. 

James  H.  Leuba. 


THE  SEX  WORSHIP  AND 

SYMBOLISM   OF   PRIMITIVE    RACES: 

AN  INTERPRETATION 


THE  SEX  WORSHIP  AND  SYM- 
BOLISM OF  PRIMITIVE  RACES: 

AN  INTERPRETATION 

CHAPTER  I 

Simple  Sex  Worship 

PSYCHIATRY,  during  recent  years, 
has  found  it  to  its  advantage  to 
turn  to  related  sciences  and  allied 
branches  of  study  for  the  explana- 
tion of  a  number  of  the  pecuhar 
symptoms    of    abnormal     mental 
states.     Of  these  related  studies,  none  have 
been  of  greater  value  than  those  which  throw 
light  on  the  mental  development  of  either  the 
individual  or  the  race.     In  primitive  races  we 
discover  a  number  of  inherent  motives  which 
are  of  interest  from  the  standpoint  of  mental 
evolution.     These  motives  are  expressed  in  a 
very  interesting  symbolism.     It  is  the  duty  of 
the  psychiatrist  to  see  to  what  extent  these 

15 


16  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

primitive  motives  operate  unconsciously  in 
abnormal  mental  conditions,  and  also  to  learn 
whether  an  insight  into  the  symbolism  of 
mental  diseases  may  be  gained,  through  com- 
parison, by  a  study  of  the  symbohsm  of  primi- 
tive races.  In  the  following  discussion  one 
particular  motive  with  its  accompanying  sym- 
bolism is  dealt  with. 

A  great  many  of  the  institutions  and  usages 
of  our  present  day  civilization  originated  at  a 
very  early  period  in  the  history  of  the  race. 
Many  of  these  usages  are  carried  on  in  modi- 
fied form  century  after  century,  after  they 
have  lost  the  meaning  which  they  originally 
possessed;  it  must  be  remembered,  however, 
that  in  primitive  races  they  were  of  importance, 
and  they  arose  because  they  served  a  useful 
end.  From  the  study  of  these  remnants  of 
former  days,  we  are  able  to  learn  the  trends 
of  thought  which  activated  and  inspired  the 
minds  of  primitive  people.  When  we  clearly 
understand  these  motives,  we  may  then  judge 
the  extent  of  their  influence  on  our  present 
day  thought  and  tendencies. 


of  Primitive  Races  17 

It  has  only  been  during  comparatively  recent 
times  that  the  importance  of  primitive  beliefs 
and  practices,  from  the  standpoint  of  mental 
evolution,  has  been  appreciated.  Formerly, 
primitive  man  was  regarded  merely  as  a 
curiosity,  and  not  as  an  individual  from  whom 
anything  of  any  value  whatever  was  to  be 
learned.  But  more  recent  studies  have 
changed  all  this.  In  order  to  illustrate  this 
matter  of  the  evolution  and  development  of 
the  human  mind  we  can  very  profitably  quote 
from  Sir  J.  G.  Frazer:*  ''For  by  comparison 
with  civilized  man  the  savage  represents  an 
arrested  or  rather  a  retarded  state  of  social 
development,  and  an  examination  of  his  cus- 
toms and  beliefs  accordingly  supplies  the  same 
sort  of  evidence  of  the  evolution  of  the  human 
mind  that  an  examination  of  the  embryo 
supplies  of  the  evolution  of  the  human  body. 
To  put  it  otherwise,  a  savage  is  to  a  civilized 
man  as  a  child  is  to  an  adult;  and  just  as  a 
gradual  growth  of  intelligence  in  a  child  cor- 
responds to,  and  in  a  sense  recapitulates,  the 

*The  Scope  of  Social  Anthropology;  Psyche's  Task. 


18  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

gradual  growth  of  intelligence  in  the  species, 
so  a  study  of  savage  society  at  various  stages 
of  evolution  enables  us  to  follow  approximate- 
ly, though  of  course  not  exactly,  the  road  by 
which  the  ancestors  of  the  higher  races  must 
have  travelled  in  their  progress  upward 
through  barbarism  to  civilization.  In  short, 
savagery  is  the  primitive  condition  of  man- 
kind, and  if  w^e  would  understand  what  primi- 
tive man  was  we  must  know  what  the  savage 
now  is. " 

To  properly  interpret  these  beliefs  and  con- 
duct, certain  facts  must  be  kept  in  mind.  One 
is  that  with  primitive  races  the  group  stands 
for  the  unit,  and  the  individual  has  little  if 
any  personality  distinct  from  the  group.  This 
social  state  gives  rise  to  w^hat  is  spoken  of  as 
collective  thought,  collective  feeling,  group 
action,  etc.  Miss  J.  Harrison*  considers  this 
conception  a  very  important  one  in  primitive 
religious  development.  All  that  the  race  ex- 
presses, all  that  it  believes,  is  an  expression  of 
collective  feeling.     As  a  result  of  this  group 

*Themis,  Introduction  Page  XI. 


of  Primitive  Races  19 

thought,  feehngs  and  beUefs  are  developed 
which  are  entertained  by  every  individual  of 
the  community.  These  racial  feelings  become 
a  part  of  the  race  itself;  they  are  inseparable 
from  it,  and  they  find  expression  in  the  loftiest 
of  sentiments  and  the  most  earnest  of  rehgious 

beliefs. 

Our  study  is  not  primarily  concerned  with 
religious  development,  but  since  early  man's 
deepest  feelings  found  expression  in  what  later 
became  a  religion,  it  is  necessary  to  search  for 
racial  motives  in  primitive  religions.    These 
feehngs  are  in  no  way  comparable  to  the  con- 
scious religious  beliefs  of  later  times,  which 
were  worked  out  in  many  instances  by  an  in- 
genious priesthood.     The  period  when  group 
feeling  predominated  far  antedated  such  civiU- 
zations  as  those  of  Egypt  and  later  Greece, 
for  example,  in  which  very  elaborate  religious 
systems  existed. 

With  primitive  people  these  deeper  feelings 
appear  to  arise  unconsciously  rather  than  con- 
sciously. Moreover,  probably  as  a  result  of 
collective  thought  and  feeling,   motives   and 


20  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

beliefs  are  developed  and  elaborated  in  a  way 
quite  beyond  the  mental  capacity  of  any  one 
individual  of  the  community.  Beliefs  are 
formulated  which  have  a  grandeur  of  con- 
ception and  a  beauty  of  expression  well  worthy 
of  admiration.  The  beauty  and  native  vigor 
of  some  of  the  earlier  myths  are  examples  of 
this.  They  live  in  the  tribe  as  traditions. 
No  one  person  seems  to  have  written  them; 
in  fact,  they  are  added  to,  changed  and  im- 
proved until  they  represent  the  highest  ex- 
pression of  national  feelings.  Gilbert  Mur- 
ray has  indicated  this  in  the  Rise  of  the  Greek 
Epic.  He  emphasizes  that  there  is  found  an 
expression  of  racial  feelings,  built  up  from 
many  sources.  Such  Sagas  are  not  the  prop- 
erty of  any  one  individual.  The  feelings  they 
express  are  associated  with  the  unconscious  of 
the  race,  if  such  a  term  is  permissible.  Gil- 
bert Murray,*  in  interpreting  this  element  in 
primitive  literature  states:  ''We  have  also,  I 
suspect,  a  strange  unanalyzed  vibration  below 
the  surface,  an  undercurrent  of  desires  and 

*Hamlet  and  Orestes. 


oj  Primitive  Races  21 

fears,  and  passions,  long  slumbering  yet  eter- 
nally familiar,  which  have  for  thousands  of 
years  lain  near  the  root  of  our  most  intimate 
emotions  and  been  wrought  into  the  fabric  of 
our  most  magical  dreams.  How  far  in  the 
past  ages  this  stream  may  reach  back  I  dare 
not  even  surmise;  but  it  sometimes  seems  as 
if  the  power  of  stirring  it  or  moving  with  it 
were  one  of  the  last  secrets  of  genius." 

The  importance  of  the  collective  or  group 
feeling  has  been  emphasized  as  thereby  one 
sees  how  a  fundamental  racial  motive  becomes 
an  integral  part  of  the  mental  life  of  each  and 
every  member  of  the  group.  In  primitive  life 
every  individual  contributes  something  to  this 
motive  and  in  turn  receives  something  from  it. 
It  enters  into  the  developing  mind  and  be- 
comes inseparably  associated  with  it.  In 
studying  the  evolution  of  these  motives  one  is 
studying  the  evolution  of  the  human  mind. 

The  motive  which  we  have  undertaken  to 
explain  has  to  do  with  one  of  the  most  impor- 
tant of  instincts,  ^.  e.,  that  of  reproduction. 
The  feelings  associated  with  this  instinct  were 


22  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

raised  to  the  dignity  of  religion,  and  in  this 
we  have  the  worship  of  sex.  This  worship  is 
to  be  regarded  as  an  unconscious  racial  ex- 
pression, the  result  of  group  or  collective  feel- 
ing, the  dynamic  significance  of  which,  from  a 
biological  standpoint,  will  appear  later. 

Before  proceeding,  it  is  desirable  to  make 
reference  to  some  of  our  sources  of  information. 
There  are  plenty  of  books  on  the  history  of 
Egypt,  the  antiquities  of  India  or  on  the  in- 
terpretation of  Oriental  customs,  which  make 
scarcely  any  reference  to  the  deification  of  sex. 
We  have  always  been  told,  for  example,  that 
Bacchus  was  the  god  of  the  harvest  and  that 
the  Greek  Pan  was  the  god  of  nature.  We 
have  not  been  told  that  these  same  gods  were 
representations  of  the  male  generative  attri- 
bute, and  that  they  were  worshipped  as  such; 
yet,  anyone  who  has  access  to  the  statuettes 
or  engravings  of  these  various  deities  of  antiq- 
uity, whether  they  be  of  Egypt,  of  India  or 
of  China,  cannot  fail  to  see  that  they  were  in- 
tended to  represent  generative  attributes.  On 
account  of  the  incompleteness  of  many  books 


of  Primi'ive  Races  23 

which  describe  primitive  races,  a  number  of 
references  are  given  throughout  these  pages, 
and  some  bibhographical  references  are  added. 

As  will  be  presently  indicated,  we  have  evi- 
dence from  a  number  of  sources  to  show  sex  was 
at  one  time  frankly  and  openly  worshipped  by 
the  primitive  races  of  mankind.  This  worship 
has  been  shown  to  be  so  general  and  so  wide- 
spread, that  it  is  to  be  regarded  as  part  of  the 
general  evolution  of  the  human  mind ;  it  seems 
to  be  indigenous  with  the  race,  rather  than  an 
isolated  or  exceptional  circumstance. 

The  American  Cyclopedia,  under  Phallic 
Worship,  reads  as  follows:  "In  early  ages  the 
sexual  emblems  were  adored  as  most  sacred 
objects,  and  in  the  several  polytheistic  systems 
the  act  or  principle  of  which  the  phallus  was 
the  type  was  represented  by  a  deity  to  whom 
it  was  consecrated:  in  Egypt  by  Khem,  in 
India  by  Siva,  in  Assyria  by  Vul,  in  primitive 
Greece  by  Pan,  and  later  by  Priapus,  in  Italy 
by  Mutinus  or  Priapus,  among  the  Teutonic 
and  Scandinavian  nations  by  Fricco,  and  in 


24  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

Spain  by  Hortanes.  Phallic  monuments  and 
sculptured  emblems  are  found  in  all  parts  of 
the  world." 

Rawlinson,  in  his  history  of  Ancient  Egypt, 
gives  us  the  following  description  of  Khem: 
"A  full  Egyptian  idea  of  Khem  can  scarcely 
be  presented  to  the  modern  reader,  on  account 
of  the  grossness  of  the  forms  under  which  it 
was  exhibited.  Some  modern  Egyptologists 
endeavor  to  excuse  or  palliate  this  grossness; 
but  it  seems  scarcely  possible  that  it  should 
not  have  been  accompanied  by  indelicacy  of 
thought  or  that  it  should  have  failed  to  exer- 
cise a  corrupting  influence  on  life  and  morals. 
Khem,  no  doubt,  represented  to  the  initiated 
merely  the  generative  power  in  nature,  or  that 
strange  law  by  which  living  organisms,  animal 
and  vegetable,  are  enabled  to  reproduce  their 
like.  But  who  shall  say  in  what  exact  light 
he  presented  himself  to  the  vulgar,  who  had 
continually  before  their  eyes  the  indecent 
figures  under  which  the  painters  and  sculptors 
portrayed  him?  As  impure  ideas  and  revolt- 
ing practices  clustered  around  the  worship  of 


oj  'Primitive  Races  %5 

Pan  in  Greece  and  later  Rome,  so  it  is  more 
than  probable  that  in  the  worship  of  Khem 
in  Egypt  were  connected  similar  excesses. 
Besides  his  priapic  or  '  Ithyphallic '  form, 
Khem's  character  was  marked  by  the  assign- 
ment to  him  of  the  goat  as  his  symbol,  and  by 
his  ordinary  title  Ka-mutf,  *The  Bull  of  His 
Mother,'  i.  e.,  of  nature." 

This  paragraph  clearly  indicates  that  the 
sexual  organs  were  worshipped  under  the  form 
of  Khem  by  the  Egyptians.  The  writer, 
however,  has  fallen  into  a  very  common  error 
in  giving  us  to  understand  that  this  was  a  de- 
graded form  of  worship;  from  numerous  other 
sources  it  is  readily  shown  that  such  is  not  the 
case. 

The  following  lines,  from  Ancient  Sex  Wor- 
ship, substantiate  the  above  remarks,  and 
at  the  same  time,  they  show  the  incomplete- 
ness of  the  writings  of  many  antiquarians.  In 
this  book  we  read:  " Phallic  emblems  abounded 
at  Heliopolis  and  Syria  and  many  other  places, 
even  into  modern  times.  The  following  un- 
folds marvelous  proof  to  our  point.     A  brother 


26  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

physician,  writing  to  Dr.  Inman,  says:  1  was 
in  Egypt  last  winter  (1865-66),  and  there  cer- 
tainly are  numerous  figures  of  gods  and  kings 
on  the  walls  of  the  temple  at  Thebes,  depicted 
with  the  male  genital  erect.  The  great  temple 
at  Karnac  is,  in  particular,  full  of  such  figures 
and  the  temple  of  Danclesa,  likewise,  although 
that  is  of  much  later  date,  and  built  merely  in 
imitation  of  old  Egyptian  art.'  "  The  writer 
further  states  that  this  shows  how  completely 
English  Egyptologists  have  suppressed  a  por- 
tion of  the  facts  in  the  histories  which  they 
have  given  to  the  world.  With  all  our  descrip- 
tions of  the  wonderful  temple  of  Karnac,  it  is 
remarkable  that  all  mention  of  its  association 
with  sex  worship  should  be  omitted  by  many 
writers. 

A  number  of  travellers  in  Africa,  even  in 
comparatively  modern  times,  have  observed 
evidences  of  sex  w  orship  among  the  primitive 
races  of  that  continent.  Captain  Burton* 
speaks  of  this  custom  with  the  Dahome  tribe. 
Small  gods  of  clay  are  made  in  priapic  attitudes 

*Quoted  by  H.  M.  Westropp,  Primitive  Symbolism. 


of  Primitive  Races  27 

before  which  the  natives  worship.  The  god 
is  often  made  as  if  contemplating  its  sexual 
organs.  Another  traveler,  a  clergyman,*  has 
described  the  same  worship  in  this  tribe.  He 
has  observed  idols  in  priapic  attitudes,  rudely 
carved  in  wood,  and  others  made  of  clay.  On 
the  lower  Congo  the  same  worship  is  described, 
where  both  male  and  female  figures  with  dis- 
proportionate genital  organs  are  used  for  pur- 
poses of  worship.  Phallic  symbols  and  other 
offerings  are  made  to  these  simple  deities. 

Definite  examples  of  the  sexual  act  having 
religious  significance  may  be  cited.  Richard 
Payne  Knightf  quotes  a  passage  from  Captain 
Cook's  voyages  to  one  of  the  Southern  Pacific 
Islands.  The  Missionaries  of  the  expedition 
on  this  occasion  assembled  the  members  of  the 
party  for  religious  ceremonies  in  which  the 
natives  joined.  The  primitive  natives  ob- 
served the  ceremony  with  great  respect  and 
then  with  due  solemnity  enacted  their  form  of 
sacred  worship.     Quite  to  the  astonishment 

*J.  W.  Wood.     The  Uncivilized  Races. 

jThe  Symbolical  Language  of  Ancient  Art  and  Mythology. 


28  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

of  the  white  people,  this  ceremony  consisted 
of  the  open  performance  of  the  sexual  act  by  a 
young  Indian  man  and  woman.  This  was 
entirely  a  religious  ceremony,  and  was  fittingly 
respected  by  all  the  natives  present. 

Hargrave  Jennings*  describes  the  same  cus- 
tom in  India.  An  Indian  woman  of  desig- 
nated caste  and  vocation  is  selected.  Many 
incantations  and  strange  rites  are  gone 
through.  A  circle,  or  "Vacant  Enchanted 
Place"  is  rendered  pure  by  certain  rites  and 
sprinkled  with  wine.  Then  secret  charms  are 
whispered  three  times  in  the  woman's  ear. 
The  sexual  act  is  then  consummated,  and  the 
whole  procedure  before  the  altar  is  distinctly 
a  form  of  sacrifice  and  worship. 

Hodder  M.  Westropp  in  Primitive  Sym- 
bolism has  indicated  the  countries  in  which 
sex  worship  has  existed.  He  gives  numerous 
instances  in  ancient  Egypt,  Assyria,  Greece 
and  Rome.  In  India,  as  well  as  in  China  and 
Japan,  it  forms  the  basis  of  early  religions. 
This  worship   is  described  among  the  early 

*The  Rosicrucians. 


of  Primitive  Races  29 

races  of  Greece,  Italy,  Spain,  Scandinavia,  and 
among  the  Mexicans  and  Peruvians  of  America 
as  well.  In  Borneo,  Tasmania,  and  Australia 
phallic  emblems  have  been  found.  Many 
other  localities  have  been  mentioned  by  this 
writer  and  one  seems  fairly  justified  in  con- 
cluding that  sex  worship  is  regularly  found  at 
one  time  in  the  development  of  primitive  races. 
We  shall  now  pass  to  another  form  of  this  same 
worship,  namely,  sacred  prostitution. 

There  is  abundant  evidence  to  show  that 
there  was  a  time  in  the  centuries  before  Christ 
when  prostitution  was  held  as  a  most  sacred 
vocation.  We  learn  of  this  practice  from  many 
sources.  It  appears  that  temples  in  a  number 
of  ancient  cities  of  the  East,  in  Babylonia, 
Nineveh,  Corinth  and  throughout  India,  were 
erected  for  the  worship  of  certain  deities. 
This  worship  consisted  of  the  prostitution  of 
women.  The  women  were  consecrated  to  the 
support  of  the  temple.  They  were  chosen  in 
much  the  same  way  as  the  modern  woman 
enters  a  sacred  church  order.  The  returns 
from  their  vocation  went  to  the  support  of  the 


30  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

deity  and  the  temple.  The  children  born  of 
such  a  union  were  in  no  way  held  in  disgrace, 
but  on  the  contrary,  they  appeared  to  have 

/formed  a  separate  and  rather  superior  class. 
We  are  told  that  this  practice  did  not  interfere 
with  a  woman's  opportunities  for  subsequent 
marriage.  In  India  the  practice  was  very 
general  at  one  time.     The  women  were  called 

;  the  "Women  of  the  Idol."  Richard  Payne 
Knight  speaks  of  a  thousand  sacred  prostitutes 
living  in  each  of  the  temples  at  Eryx  and 
Corinth. 

A  custom  which  shows  even  more  clearly 
that  prostitution  was  held  as  a  sacred  duty  to 
women  was  that  in  Babylonia  every  woman, 
of  high  rank  or  low,  must  at  one  time  in  her 
life  prostitute  herself  to  any  stranger  who 
offered  money.  In  Ancient  Sex  Worship 
we  read:  "There  was  a  temple  in  Babylonia 
where  every  female  had  to  perform  once  in 
her  life  a  (to  us)  strange  act  of  religion,  namely, 
prostitution  with  a  stranger.  The  name  of  it 
was  Bit-Shagatha,  or  *The  Temple,'  the  Tlace 
of  Union.'  "     Moreover  we  learn  that  once  a 


oj  Primitive  Races  31 

woman  entered  the  temple  for  such  a  sacred 
act  she  could  not  leave  until  it  was  performed. 

The  above  accounts  deal  exclusively  in  the 
sacrifice  made  by  women  to  the  deity  of  sex. 
Men  did  not  escape  this  sacrifice  and  it  appears 
that  some  inflicted  upon  themselves  an  even 
worse  one.  Frazer*  tells  us  of  this  worship 
which  was  introduced  from  Assyria  into  Rome 
about  two  hundred  years  before  Christ.  It 
was  the  worship  of  Cybele  and  Attis.  These 
deities  were  attended  by  emasculated  priests 
and  the  priests  in  oriental  costume  paraded 
Rome  in  religious  ceremony. 

On  one  occasion,  namely,  "  the  day  of  blood  " 
in  the  Spring,  the  chief  ceremony  was  held. 
This,  among  other  things,  consisted  in  fasten- 
ing an  effigy  of  the  god  to  a  pine  tree,  which 
was  brought  to  the  temple  of  the  Goddess 
Cybele.  A  most  spectacular  dance  about  the 
effigy  then  occurred  in  which  the  priests 
slashed  themselves  with  knives,  the  blood 
being  offered  as  sacrifice.  As  the  excitement 
increased  the  sexual  nature  of  the  ceremony 

*Adonis,  Attis  and  Osiris. 


32  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

became  evident.  To  quote  from  Frazer :  '*  For 
man  after  man,  his  veins  throbbing  with  the 
music,  his  eyes  fascinated  by  the  sight  of 
streaming  blood,  flung  his  garments  from  him, 
leaped  forth  with  a  shout,  and  seizing  one  of 
the  swords  which  stood  ready  for  the  service, 
castrated  himself  on  the  spot.  Then  he  ran 
through  the  city  holding  the  bloody  parts  in 
his  hands  and  threw  them  into  one  of  the 
houses  which  he  passed  in  his  mad  career. " 

We  see  that  this  act  directly  corresponds 
with  the  part  played  by  the  female.  The 
female  prostituted  herself,  and  the  male  pre- 
sented his  generative  powers  to  the  deity. 
Both  the  sacred  prostitutes  and  emasculated 
priests  were  held  in  religious  veneration. 

The  above  references  are  sufficient  to  show 
that  a  simple  form  of  sex  worship  has  been 
quite  generally  found.  It  becomes  apparent 
as  we  proceed  that  the  w  orship  of  sex  not  only 
plays  a  part,  but  a  very  prominent  part,  in  the 
developing  mind  of  man.  In  the  frank  and 
open  form  of  this  worship  it  is  quite  clear  that 
we  are  dealing  with  a  very  simple  type  of 


of  Primitive  Races  33 

mind.  These  primitive  people  exhibit  many 
of  the  quahties  of  the  child.  They  are  quite 
without  sex  consciousness.  Their  motives  are 
at  once  both  simple  and  direct,  and  they  are 
doubtless  sincere.  Much  misunderstanding 
has  arisen  by  judging  such  primitive  people  by 
the  standards  of  our  present  day  civilization. 
Sex  worship,  while  it  held  sway  was  probably 
quite  as  seriously  entertained  as  many  other 
beliefs;  it  only  became  degraded  during  a  de- 
cadent age,  when  civilization  had  advanced 
beyond  such  simple  conceptions  of  a  deity, 
but  had  not  evolved  a  satisfactory  substitute. 


CHAPTER  II 

Symbolism 

AS  civilization  advanced,  the  deifica- 
tion of  sex  was  no  longer  frank 
and  open.  It  came  to  be  carried 
on  by  means  of  symbolism. 
This  symbolism  was  an  effort  on 
the  part  of  its  originators  to  ex- 
press the  worship  of  the  generative  attributes 
under  disguise,  often  understood  only  by  the 
priests  or  by  those  initiated  into  the  religious 
mysteries.  The  mysteries  so  frequently  re- 
ferred to  in  the  religions  of  antiquity  are  often 
some  expression  of  sex  worship. 

Sexual  symbolism  was  very  general  at  one 
time  and  remains  of  it  are  found  in  most  of  the 
countries  where  any  form  of  sex  worship  has 
existed.  Such  remains  have  been  found  in 
Egypt,  Greece,  Italy,  India,  China,  Japan, 
and  indeed  in  most  countries  the  early  history 
of  which  is  known  to  man. 

34 


oj  Primitive  Races  35 

One  important  kind  of  symbolism  had  to  do 
with  the  form  of  the  object  deified.  Thus,  it 
appears  that  certain  objects, — particularly 
upright  objects, — stones,  mounds,  poles,  trees, 
etc.,  were  erected,  or  used  as  found  in  nature, 
as  typifying  the  male  generative  organ.  Like- 
wise certain  round  or  oval  objects,  discs,  cer- 
tain fruits  and  certain  natural  caves,  were 
worshipped  as  representing  the  female  genera- 
tive organ.     (The  yoni  of  India.) 

We  also  find  that  certain  qualities  of  animal 
or  vegetable  nature  were  equally  venerated,  not 
because  of  their  form,  but  because  they  stood 
for  some  quality  desirable  in  the  generation  of 
mankind.  Thus  we  find  that  some  animals — 
the  bull  because  of  its  strength  and  aggressive 
nature,  the  snake,  perhaps  because  of  its  form 
or  of  its  tenacity  of  life, — were  male  represen- 
tatives of  phallic  significance.  Likewise  the 
fish,  the  dolphin,  and  a  number  of  other 
aquatic  creatures  came  to  be  female  represen- 
tatives. This  may  be  shown  over  and  over 
again  by  reference  to  the  antique  emblems, 
coins,  and  engravings  of  many  nations. 


36  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

Another  later  symbolism,  which  was  adopted 
by  certain  philosophies,  was  more  obscure  but 
was  none  the  less  of  distinct  sexual  significance. 
Fire  is  made  to  represent  the  male  principle, 
and  icater,  and  much  connected  with  it,  the 
female.  Thus  we  have  Venus,  born  of  the 
Sea,  and  accompanied  by  numerous  fish  repre- 
sentations. Fire  w^orship  was  secondary  to 
the  universally  found  sun  worship.  The  sun 
is  everywhere  the  male  principle,  standing  for 
the  generative  power  in  nature.  At  one  time 
the  symJjolism  is  broad,  and  refers  to  genera- 
tive nature  in  general.  At  another  time  it 
refers  solely  to  the  human  generative  organs. 
Thus,  tlxc  Greek  God  Hermes,  the  God  of 
Fecundity  in  nature,  is  at  times  represented 
in  unmistakable  priapic  attitudes. 

Still  another  symbolism  w^as  often  used  in 
India.  This  was  the  addition  of  a  number  of 
members  to  the  deity,  possibly  a  number  of 
arms  or  heads.  This  was  in  order  to  express 
a  number  of  qualities.  Thus  the  deity  was 
both  generator  and  destroyer,  one  face  show- 
ing benevolence  and  kindness,  the  other  vie- 


of  Primitive  Races  37 

lence  and  rage.  In  many  of  the  deities  both 
male  and  female  principles  were  represented 
in  one,— an  Androgyne  deity— which  was  an 
ideal  frequently  attempted.  The  idea  that 
these  grotesque  deities  were  merely  the  ex- 
pression of  eccentricity  or  caprice  on  the  part 
of  their  originator  is  not  to  be  entertained. 
Richard  Payne  Knight  has  pointed  out  that 
they  occur  almost  entirely  on  national  coins 
and  emblems,  and  so  were  the  expression  of  an 
estabhshed  belief. 

We  shall  refer  first  to  the  simpler  symbols, 
those  in  which  an  object  was  deified  because 
of  its  form. 

It  is  perhaps  not  remarkable  that  upright 
objects  should  be  selected  because  of  their  form 
as  the  simplest  expression  of  phalhc  ideas. 
The  simple  upright  for  purposes  of  sex  worship 
is  universally  found.  An  upright  conical  stone 
is  frequently  mentioned.  Many  of  the  stone 
idols  or  pillars,  the  worship  of  which  was  for- 
bidden by  the  Bible,  come  under  this  group. 
Likewise,  the  obelisk,  found  not  only  in  Egypt, 
but  in  modified  forms  in  many  other  countries 


38  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolisvi 

as  well,  embodies  the  same  phallic  principle. 
The  usual  explanation  of  the  obelisk  is  that  it 
represented  the  rays  of  the  sun  striking  the 
earth;  when  we  speak  of  sun  worship  later, 
we  shall  see  that  this  substantiates  rather  than 
refutes  the  phallic  interpretation.  The  mounds 
of  religious  significance,  found  in  many  coun- 
tries, were  associated  with  sex  worship.     The 
Chinese  pagodas  are  probably  of  phalhc  origin. 
Indeed,  there  is  evidence  to  show  that  the 
spires  of  our  Churches  owe  their  existence  to 
the  uprights  or  obelisks  outside  the  Temples 
of  former   ages.     A   large   volume   has   been 
written  by  O'Brien  to  show  that  the  Round 
Towers   of   Ireland    (upright   towers   of   pre- 
historic times)  were  erected  as  phallic  emblems. 
Higgins,   in     the  Anacalipsis,     has     amassed 
a  great  wealth  of  material  with  similar  purport, 
and  he   shows    that  such  "temples"  as  that 
of   Stonehenge   and  others  were   also  phallic. 
The  stone  idols  of  Mexico  and  Peru,  the  ancient 
pillar  stones  of  Brittany,  and  in  fact  all  similar 
upright  objects,  erected  for  religious  purposes 
the  world  over,  are  placed  in  this  same  cate- 


o/  Primitive  Races  39 

gory.  We  shall  presently  give  a  number  of 
references  to  show  that  the  May-pole  was 
associated  with  phallic  worship  and  that  it 
originated  at  a  very  remote  period. 

We  shall  now  quote  from  some  of  the  authors 
who  have  contributed  to  our  knowledge  of  this 
form  of  symbolism,  as  thereby  a  clear  idea  of 
their  meaning  may  be  set  forth.  These  inter- 
pretations are  not  generally  advanced,  and 
therefore  we  have  added  considerable  corrobo- 
rative evidence  which  we  have  been  able  to 
obtain  from  independent  sources. 

In  an  Essay  on  the  Assyrian  *' Grove"  and 
other  Emblems,  Mr.  John  Newton  sums  up 
the  basis  of  this  symbolism  as  follows:  ''As 
civilization  advanced,  the  gross  symbols  of 
creative  power  were  cast  aside,  and  priestly 
ingenuity  was  taxed  to  the  utmost  in  inventing 
a  crowd  of  less  obvious  emblems,  which  should 
represent  the  ancient  ideas  in  a  decorous 
manner.  The  old  belief  was  retained,  but  in  a 
mysterious  or  sublimated  form.  As  symbols 
of  the  male,  or  active  element  in  creation,  the 
sun,  light,  fire,  a  torch,  the  phallus  or  lingam, 


40  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

an  erect  serpent,  a  tall  straight  tree,  especially 
the  palm  or  fir  or  pine,  were  adopted.  Equal- 
ly useful  for  symbolism  were  a  tall  upright 
stone  (menhir),  a  cone,  a  pyramid,  a  thumb 
or  finger  pointed  straight,  a  mask,  a  rod,  a 
trident,  a  narrow  bottle  or  amphora,  a  bow, 
an  arrow,  a  lance,  a  horse,  a  bull,  a  lion,  and 
many  other  animals  conspicuous  for  masculine 
power.  As  symbols  of  the  female,  the  passive 
though  fruitful  element  in  creation,  the  cres- 
cent moon,  the  earth,  darkness,  water,  and  its 
emblem,  a  triangle  with  the  apex  downward, 
"the  yoni" — ^the  shallow  vessel  or  cup  for 
pouring  fluid  into  (cratera),  a  ring  or  oval,  a 
lozenge,  any  narrow  cleft,  either  natural  or 
artificial,  an  arch  or  doorway,  were  employed. 
In  the  same  category  of  symbols  came  a  boat 
or  ship,  a  female  date  palm  bearing  fruit,  a 
cow  with  her  calf  by  her  side,  a  fish,  fruits 
having  many  seeds,  such  as  the  pomegranate, 
a  shell,  (concha),  a  cavern,  a  garden,  a  foun- 
tain, a  bower,  a  rose,  a  fig,  and  other  things  of 
suggestive  form,  etc. 

"These   two   great    classes  of  conventional 


of  Primitive  Races  41 

symbols  were  often  represented  in  conjunction 
with  each  other,  and  thus  symhohzed  in  the 
highest  degree  the  great  source  of  hfe,  ever 

originating,  ever  renewed 

"A  similar  emblem  is  the  lingam  standing  in 
the  centre  of  the  yoni,  the  adoration  of  which 
is  to  this  day  characteristic  of  the  leading 
dogma  of  Hindu  religion.  There  is  scarcely 
a  temple  in  India  which  has  not  its  lingam, 
and  in  numerous  instances  this  symbol  is  the 
only  form  under  which  the  god  Siva  is  wor- 
shipped." 

In  Ancient  Sex  Worship  we  read,  "As  the 
male  genital  organs  were  held  in  early  times 
to  exemplify  the  actual  male  creative  power, 
various  natural  objects  were  seized  upon  to 
express  the  theistic  idea  and  at  the  same  time 
point  to  those  points  of  the  human  form. 
Hence,  a  simihtude  is  recognized  in  a  pillar,  a 
heap  of  stones,  a  tree  between  two  rocks,  a 
club  between  two  pine  cones,  a  trident,  a 
thyrsus  tied  around  with  two  ribbons  with  the 
end  pendant,  a  thumb  and  two  fingers.  The 
caduceus  again  the  conspicuous  part  of  the 


42  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

sacred  Triad  Ashur  is  symbolized  by  a  single 
stone  placed  upright, — the  stump  of  a  tree,  a 
block,  a  tower,  a  spire,  minaret,  pole,  pine, 
poplar  or  pine  tree." 

Hargrave  Jennings,  the  author  of  several 
books  on  some  aspects  of  religions  of  antiquity, 
among  them  one  on  phallicism,  deals  freely 
with  the  phallic  principles  embodied  in  these 
religions.  As  do  many  other  writers,  he 
identifies  fire  w^orship  with  sex  worship,  and 
the  following  short  paragraph  shows  his  con- 
ception of  their  interrelationship,  as  well  as 
the  significance  of  the  upright  of  antiquity. 
In  the  Rosicrucians  he  says:  "Obelisks,  spires, 
minarets,  tall  towers,  upright  stones,  (men- 
hirs), and  architectural  perpendiculars  of  every 
description,  and,  generally  speaking,  all  erec- 
tions conspicuous  for  height  and  slimness,  w^ere 
representations  of  the  Sworded  or  of  the  Pyra- 
midal Fire.  They  bespoke,  wherever  found 
and  in  whatever  age,  the  idea  of  the  First 
Principle  or  the  male  generative  emblem." 

We  might  readily  cite  passages  from  the 
writings  of  a  number  of  other  authors  but  the 


of  Primitive  Races  43 

above  paragraphs  suffice  to  set  forth  the 
general  principle  of  this  symbolism.  As  stated 
above,  such  interpretations  have  not  been 
generally  advanced  to  explain  such  objects  as 
sacred  pillar  stones,  obelisks,  minarets,  etc. 
It  is  readily  seen  how  fully  these  views  are 
substantiated  by  observations  from  a  number 
of  independent  sources. 

In  a  book  of  Travel*  in  India  we  are  able 
from  an  independent  source  to  learn  of  the 
symboHsm  of  that  country.  The  traveller 
gives  a  description  of  the  caves  of  Elephanta, 
near  Bombay.  These  are  enormous  caves  cut 
in  the  side  of  a  mountain,  for  religious  purposes 
to  which  pilgrimages  are  made  and  where  the 
usual  festivities  are  held.  The  worship  of 
generative  attributes  is  quite  apparent.  The 
numerous  sculptured  female  figures,  as  re- 
marked by  the  traveller,  are  all  represented 
with  greatly  exaggerated  breasts,  a  symbolism 
which  is  frequent  throughout  oriental  countries 
for  expressing  reproductive  attributes. 

In  an  inner  chamber  is  placed  the  symbol 

*Rousselet,  India  and  Its  Native  Princes. 


44  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

which  is  held  in  particular  veneration.  Here 
is  found  an  upright  conical  stone  standing 
within  a  circular  one.  The  stone  is  sprinkled 
with  water  during  the  festival  season.  The 
writer  states  that  this  stone,  to  the  worship- 
pers, represents  the  male  generative  organ, 
and  the  worship  of  it  is  not  considered  an  im- 
propriety. In  this  instance  we  feel  that  the 
symbolism  is  very  definite,  and  doubtless  the 
stone  pillars  in  the  other  temples  of  India  and 
elsewhere  are  of  the  same  significance. 

A  clergyman  in  the  Chinese  Review^  of  1876, 
under  the  title  Phallic  Worship  in  China, 
gives  an  account  of  the  phallicism  as  he  ob- 
served it  at  that  time.  He  states  that  the 
male  sexual  organ  is  symbolized  by  a  simple 
mound  of  earth  and  is  so  worshipped.  Similar- 
ly, the  female  organ  is  represented  by  a  mound 
of  different  form  and  is  worshipped  as  the 
former.  The  writer  states  that  at  times  these 
mounds  are  built  in  conjunction.  He  states 
this  worship  is  similar  to  that  of  Baal  of  Chal- 
dea,  etc.,  and  that  probably  all  have  a  common 
origin.     It  appears  to  be  a  fundamental  part 


of  Primitive  Races  45 

of  the  Chinese  rehgion  and  the  symboHsm  of 
the  Chinese  pagoda  expresses  the  same  idea. 
He  says  that  Kheen  or  Shang-te,  the  Chinese 
deities  of  sex,  are  also  worshipped  in  the  form 
of  serpents,  of  which  the  dragon  of  the  Chinese 
is  a  modification.  This  furnishes  a  concrete 
instance  in  which  the  mound  of  earth  is  of 
phalHc  significance,  and  substantiates  an  in- 
terpretation of  serpent  worship  to  which  we 
shall  presently  refer. 

Hodder  M.  Westropp  has  given  us  an  ex- 
cellent account  of  phallic  worship  and  includes 
in  his  description  the  observations  of  a  travel- 
ler in  Japan  at  as  late  periods  as  1864  and  1869. 

A  temple  near  the  ancient  capital  of  Japan 
was  visited  by  a  traveller.  In  this  temple  the 
main  object  of  worship  was  a  large  upright, 
standing  alone,  and  the  resemblance  to  the 
male  generative  organ  was  so  striking  as  to 
leave  no  doubt  as  to  what  it  represented. 
This  upright  was  worshipped  especially  by 
women,  w^ho  left  votive  offerings,  among  them 
small  phalli,  elaborately  wrought  out  of  wood 
or  other   material.     The  traveller  remarked 


46  Sex  Worship  and  Smholism 

that  the  worship  was  most  earnest  and  sincere. 

The  same  traveller  observed  that  in  some 
of  the  public  roads  of  Japan  are  small  hedged 
recesses  where  similar  stone  pillars  are  found. 
These  large  pillars  unquestionably  represent 
the  male  organ.  The  writer  has  observed 
priests  in  procession  carrying  similar  huge 
phalh,  painted  in  color  as  well.  This  proces- 
sion called  forth  no  particular  comment  and 
so  w^as  probably  not  unusual.  It  is  stated  that 
this  is  a  part  of  the  ancient  "Shinto"  religion 
of  Japan  and  China. 

There  are  frequent  references  to  certain  of 
the  gods  of  the  Ancients  being  represented  in 
priapic  attitudes,  the  phallus  being  the  promi- 
nent and  most  important  attribute.  Thus 
Hermes,  in  Greece,  was  placed  at  cross-roads, 
with  phallus  prominent.  This  was  compar- 
able to  the  phallus  on  Japanese  highways. 
In  the  festivals  of  Bacchus  high  phalli  were 
carried,  the  male  organ  being  represented 
about  the  size  of  the  rest  of  the  body.  The 
Egyptians  carried  a  gilt  phallus,  150  cubits 
high,  at  the  festivals  of  Osiris.     In  Syria,  at 


of  Primitive  Races  47 

the  entrance  of  the  temple  at  Hieropohs,  was 
placed  a  human  figure  with  a  phallus  120  cubits 
high.  A  man  mounted  this  upright  twice  a 
year  and  remained  seven  days,  offering  prayers, 
etc. 

In  Peru  in  the  Temple  of  the  Sun  an  upright 
pillar  has  been  described  covered  with  gold 
leaf,  very  similar  to  those  existing  elsewhere 
and  to  which  has  been  ascribed  similar  signifi- 
cance. 

A  number  of  writers  have  expressed  the 
belief  that  the  May-pole  is  an  emblem  of 
ancient  phallic  worship.  We  know  that  May- 
day festivals  are  of  the  most  remote  antiquity. 
We  are  indebted  to  R.  P.  Knight  for  a  descrip- 
tion of  what  May-day  was  like  about  four 
centuries  ago  in  England.  The  festival  started 
the  evening  before.  Men  and  women  went 
out  into  the  woods  in  search  of  a  tree  and 
brought  it  back  to  the  village  in  the  early 
morning.  The  night  was  spent  in  sexual  ex- 
cesses comparable  to  those  of  the  Roman 
Bacchanalia.  A  procession  was  formed,  gar- 
lands were  added  to  the  May -pole,  which  was 


48  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

set  up  in  the  village  square.  The  Puritans 
referred  to  it  as  an  idol,  and  they  did  not  ap- 
prove of  the  festivities.  Until  comparatively 
recent  years  there  was  a  May -pole  in  one  of 
the  squares  of  London,  and  Samuel  Pepys,* 
writing  of  his  time,  speaks  of  seeing  May-poles 
in  the  front  yards  of  the  prominent  citizens  of 
Holland.  A  festival  much  the  same  as  this 
was  held  in  Ancient  Rome  and  also  in  India. 
The  May -pole  properly  pierces  a  disc  and  thus 
conforms  with  the  lingam-yoni  of  India.  We 
also  know  that  the  first  of  May  was  a  favorite 
time  for  all  nature  worship  with  the  ancients. 
For  a  number  of  interesting  suggestions  the 
reader  is  referred  to  R.  P.  Knight,  Worship 
of  Priapus  and  Hargrave  Jennings,  Indian 
Religions  (Page  66). 

Tree  worship  is  frequently  mentioned  in  the 
religions  of  antiquity.  We  are  told  that  the 
mystic  power  of  the  mistletoe  comes  from  the 
fact  that  it  grows  on  the  oak,  a  once  sacred 
tree.  The  pine  of  the  North,  the  palm  and 
the  fig  tree  of  the  South,  were  sacred  trees  at 

*Pepys  Diary. 


of  Primitive  Races  49 

one  time.  John  Newton  made  a  study  of  tree 
worship,  especially  the  Ancient  Grove  Worship 
of  Assyria.  He  shows  that  the  object  of 
veneration  was  a  male  date  palm,  which  repre- 
sented the  Assyrian  god  Baal.  Sex  was  wor- 
shipped under  this  deity,  and  it  is  shown  that 
the  tree  of  the  Assyrian  grove  was  a  phallic 
symbol.  Palm  Sunday  appears  to  be  a  relic 
of  this  worship.  In  France,  until  compara- 
tively recent  times,  there  was  a  festival,  "La 
Fete  des  Pinnes, "  in  which  palms  were  carried 
in  procession,  and  with  the  palms  were  carried 
phalli  of  bread  which  had  been  blessed  by  the 
priests. 

Richard  Payne  Knight  tells  us  that  Pan 
was  worshipped  by  the  Shepherds  under  the 
form  of  the  tall  fir,  and  Bacchus  **by  sticking 
up  the  rude  trunk  of  a  tree."  It  is  shown 
throughout  these  pages  that  sexual  attributes 
were  worshipped  under  both  these  deities. 
In  reference  to  other  symbols,  the  writer  con- 
tinues;* "The  spires  and  pinnacles  with  which 
our  churches  are  decorated  come  from  these 

*Symbolic  Language  of  Ancient  Art  and  Mythology. 


50  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

ancient  symbols;  and  the  weather  cocks,  with 
which  they  are  surmounted,  though  now  only 
employed  to  show  the  direction  of  the  wind, 
were  originally  emblems  of  the  sun;  for  the 
cock  is  the  natural  herald  of  the  day,  and 
therefore  sacred  to  the  fountain  of  light.  In 
the  symbolical  writings  of  the  Chinese  the  sun 
is  still  represented  by  a  cock  in  the  circle ;  and 
a  modern  Parsee  would  suffer  death  rather 
than  be  guilty  of  the  crime  of  killing  one.  It 
appears  on  many  ancient  coins,  with  some 
symbol  of  the  passive  productive  power  on  the 
reverse;  and  in  other  instances  it  is  united 
with  priapic  and  other  emblems  and  devices, 
signifying  other  attributes  combined." 

Dr.  Thomas  Inman  has  made  a  study  to 
show  how  this  phallic  symbolism  found  its  way 
into  ancient  art,  and  even  into  some  designs  of 
modern  times.  Thus,  many  formal  designs 
are  studied  in  which  the  upright  plays  a  part; 
likewise,  the  oval  and  the  circle  receive  a 
similar  explanation.  The  architectural  orna- 
ments spoken  of  as  eggs  and  anchors,  eggs  and 
spear  lieads,    the  so-called  honeysuckle  orna- 


of  Primitive  Races  51 

ment  of  antiquity,  and  the  origin  of  some 
church  windows  and  ornaments,  are  all  studied 
by  this  writer,  and  his  text  is  accompanied  by 
illustrations.  Hargrave  Jennings  has  also 
traced  the  origin  of  the  symbols  of  Heraldry, 
the  emblems  of  Royalty  and  of  some  church 
Orders  with  similar  explanations. 

We  may  add  that  the  crux  ansata  of  the 
Egyptians,  the  oval  standing  upon  the  up- 
right, or  letter  Tau,  may  be  shown  to  be  a  sex 
symbol,  the  union  of  the  oval  with  the  upright 
being  of  symbolic  significance.  The  crux 
ansata  is  found  in  the  hand  of  most  of  the 
Egyptian  deities.  It  is  found  in  the  Assyrian 
temples  and  throughout  the  temples  of  India 
as  well.  Prehistoric  monuments  of  Ireland 
have  the  same  design.  Priests  are  portrayed 
in  adoration  of  the  crux  ansata  before  phallic 
monuments.  This  symbol,  from  which  our 
modern  cross  is  doubtless  derived,  originated 
with  the  religions  of  antiquity.  Much  addi- 
tional evidence  could  readily  be  given  to  illus- 
trate this  prehistoric  origin.  The  present 
Christian  symbol  affords  another  example  of 


52  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

the  adoption  by  a  new  religion  of  the  symbols 
of  the  old. 

Some  reflection  will  show  that  the  origin  of 
many  church  customs  and  symbols,  and  indeed 
of  a  great  number  of  obscure  customs  and 
usages,  may  quite  properly  be  traced  to  the 
reUgions  and  practices  of  primitive  races. 
Lafcadio  Hearn  has  insisted  upon  this  in  the 
interpretation  of  the  art  and  customs  of  the 
Japanese.  He  says,*  "Art  in  Japan  is  so 
intimately  associated  with  religion  that  any 
attempt  to  study  it  without  extensive  knowl- 
edge of  the  beliefs  which  it  reflects  were  mere 
waste  of  time.  By  art  I  do  not  mean  painting 
and  sculpture  but  every  kind  of  decoration,  and 
most  kinds  of  pictorial  representation — the 
image  of  a  boy's  kite  or  a  girl's  battledore  not 
less  than  the  design  upon  a  lacquered  casquet 
or  enameled  vase, — the  figure  upon  a  work- 
man's trowel  not  less  than  the  pattern  of  the 
girdle  of  a  princess, — the  shape  of  the  paper 
doll  or  wooden  rattle  bought  for  a  baby,  not 
less  than  the  forms  of  those  colossal  Ni-0, 

*Japan,  an  attempt  at  Interpretation. 


oj  Primitive  Races  53 

who  guard  the  gateways  of  the  Buddha's 
temples,"  etc. 

In  the  above  pages,  we  have  given  an  ac- 
count of  the  views  of  a  number  of  writers  upon 
certain  forms  and  symbols,  and  at  the  same 
time  we  have  offered  considerable  evidence  in 
substantiation  from  independent  sources. 
These  origins,  found  associated  especially  in 
art  and  religious  usages,  have  not  been  general- 
ly understood.  Yet  when  we  reflect  upon  the 
fact  that  many  religious  customs  are  of  great 
antiquity;  that  when  once  a  certain  form  or 
custom  becomes  established,  it  is  well  nigh 
ineffaceable,  although  subject  to  great  change 
or  disguise  throughout  the  centuries ;  when  we 
reflect  upon  these  conditions,  and  realize  the 
fact  that  sex  worship  with  its  accompanying 
symbolism  is  found  throughout  primitive 
religions,  we  may  then  more  readily  appreciate 
the  entire  significance  of  the  above  interpreta- 
tions. 

It  must,  of  course,  be  borne  in  mind  that  no 
one  now  gives  these  interpretations  to  spires, 
minarets,    and   to    the    various    monumental 


54  Sex  Worshij)  and  Symbolism 

symbols  of  which  we  have  been  speaking.  We 
are  here  deaUng  exclusively  with  pre-historic 
origins,  not  with  present  day  meanings.  The 
antiquity  of  certain  symbols  is  truly  remark- 
able. The  star  and  crescent,  for  example,  a 
well  known  conventionalized  symbol,  is  found 
on  Assyrian  cyhnders,  doubtless  devised  many 
centuries  before  Christ. 

The  full  force  and  meaning  of  these  various 
symbols  may  be  very  readily  grasped  by  refer- 
ence to  a  number  of  designs,  ancient  coins, 
bas-reliefs,  monuments,  etc.,  which  have  been 
reproduced  in  plates  and  drawings  by  C.  W. 
King,  Thomas  Inman,  R.  P.  Knight  and  others. 
To  these  we  refer  the  reader. 

A  number  of  plant  and  flower  symbols  have  a 
different  significance  from  that  which  is  gen- 
erally given  to  them.  We  are  all  quite  familiar 
with  the  grape  vine  of  Bacchus  and  the  associa- 
tion of  that  deity  with  grapes.  According  to 
R.  P.  Knight,  this  too,  symbolizes  a  sexual 
attribute.  Speaking  of  Bacchus,  he  writes, 
"The  vine  was  a  favorite  symbol  of  the  deity, 


o/  Primitive  Races  55 

which  seems  to  have  been  generally  employed 
to  signify  the  generative  or  preserving  attri- 
bute; intoxicating  liquors  were  stimulative, 
and  therefore  held  to  be  aphrodisiac.  The 
vase  is  often  employed  in  its  stead  to  express 
the  same  idea  and  is  often  accompanied  by  the 
same  accessory  symbol. " 

We  have  often  seen  in  sculptures  and  paint- 
ings, heads  of  barley  associated  with  the  God 
of  the  Harvest.  This  symbol  would  appear 
to  be  self  explanatory ;  yet  we  are  told  by  more 
than  one  writer  that  it  contains  another  sym- 
boHc  meaning  as  well.  H.  M.  Westropp, 
speaking  of  this  says,  *'The  kites  or  female 
organ,  as  the  symbol  of  the  passive  or  pro- 
ductive power  of  nature,  generally  occurs  on 
ancient  Roman  Monuments  as  the  Concha 
Veneris,  a  fig,  barley  corn,  and  the  letter  Del- 
ta." We  are  told  that  the  grain  of  barley, 
because  of  its  form,  was  a  symbol  of  the  vulva. 

A  great  many  other  female  symbols  might 
be  mentioned.  The  pomegranate  is  constant- 
ly seen  in  the  hands  of  Proserpine.  The  fir- 
cone is   carried  by  the  Assyrian   Baal,    and 


56  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

the  fig  in  numerous  processions  has  a  similar 
significance.  When  we  add  to  these  the 
various  forms  of  tree  worship  described  above, 
we  see  to  what  an  extent  the  products  of 
nature  were  used  as  symbols  in  the  worship 
of  sex. 

Among  flower  symbols  there  is  one  which 
recurs  constantly  throughout  the  art  and 
mythology  of  India,  Egypt,  China,  and  many 
other  Eastern  countries.  This  is  the  lotus,  of 
which  the  Easter  lily  is  the  modern  representa- 
tive. The  lotus  appears  in  a  number  of  forms 
in  the  records  of  antiquity.  We  have  symbolic 
pictures  of  the  lion  carrying  the  lotus  in  its 
mouth,  doubtless  a  male  and  female  symbol. 
The  deities  of  India  are  depicted  standing  on 
the  lotus,  or  are  spoken  of  as  being  "born  of 
the  Lotus . "  "  The  Chinese, " *  say s  the  author 
of  Rites  and  Ceremonies,  "worship  a  Goddess 
whom  they  call  Puzza,  and  of  whom  their 
priests  give  the  following  account; — they  say 
that  'three  nymphs  came  down  from  heaven  to 
wash  themselves  in  the  river,  but  scarce  had 

*0'Brien:  The  Round  Towers  of  Ireland. 


of  Primitive  Races  57 

they  gotten  in  the  water  before  the  herb  lotus 
appeared  on  one  of  their  garments,  with  its 
coral  fruit  upon  it.  They  were  surprised  to 
think  whence  it  could  proceed;  and  the  nymph 
upon  whose  garment  it  was  could  not  resist 
the  temptation  of  indulging  herself  in  tasting 
it.  But  by  thus  eating  some  of  it  she  became 
pregnant,  and  was  deKvered  of  a  boy,  whom 
she  brought  up,  and  then  returned  to  heaven. 
He  afterwards  became  a  great  man,  a  con- 
queror and  legislator,  and  the  nymph  was 
afterwards  worshipped  under  the  name  of 
Puzza.'  "  Puzza  corresponds  to  the  Indian 
Buddha. 

In  Egyptian  architecture  the  lotus  is  a 
fundamental  form,  and  indeed  it  is  said  to  be 
the  main  motive  of  the  architecture  of  that 
civiUzation.  The  capitals  of  the  column  are 
modelled  after  one  form  or  other  of  this  plant. 
That  of  the  Doric  column  is  the  seed  vessel 
pressed  flat.  Earher  capitals  are  simple  copies 
of  the  bell  or  seed  vessel.  The  columns  con- 
sisted of  stalks  of  the  plant  grouped  together. 
In  other  cases  the  leaves  are  used  as  ornaments. 


58  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

These  orders  were  copied  by  the  Greeks,  and 
subsequently  by  western  countries. 

We  may  ask  ourselves,  what  is  the  meaning 
of  this  mystic  lotus  which  was  held  in  sufficient 
veneration  to  be  incorporated  in  all  the  temples 
of  rehgion,  as  well  as  in  myths  of  the  deity. 
This,  too,  refers  to  the  deification  of  sex. 
O'Brien,  in  the  Round  Towers  of  Ireland 
states:  ''The  lotus  was  the  most  sacred  plant 
of  the  Ancients,  and  typified  the  two  principles 
of  the  earth  fecundation, — the  germ  standing 
for  the  lingam;  the  filaments  and  petals  for  the 
yoni." 

R.  P.  Knight  states,  ''We  find  it  (the  lotus) 
employed  in  every  part  of  the  Northern  Hemi- 
sphere where  symbolical  worship  does  or  ever 
did  prevail.  The  sacred  images  of  the  Tartars, 
Japanese  or  Indians,  are  all  placed  upon  it 
and  it  is  still  sacred  in  Tibet  and  China.  The 
upper  part  of  the  base  of  the  lingam  also  con- 
sists of  the  flower  of  it  blended  with  the  most 
distinctive  characteristics  of  the  female  sex; 
in  which  that  of  the  male  is  placed,  in  order  to 
complete  this  mystic  symbol  of  the  ancient 


of  Primitive  Races  59 

religion  of  the  Brahmans ;  who,  in  their  sacred 
writings,  speak  of  Brahma  sitting  upon  his 
lotus  throne." 

Alexander  Wilder,*  states  that  the  term 
"Nymphe"  and  its  derivations  were  used  to 
designate  young  women,  brides,  the  marriage 
chamber,  the  lotus  flower,  oracular  temples 
and  the  labiae  minores  of  the  human  female. 

The  lotus  then,  which  is  found  throughout 
antiquity,  in  art  as  well  as  in  religion,  was  a 
sexual  symbol,  representing  to  the  ancients 
the  combination  of  male  and  female  sexual 
organs.  It  is  another  expression  of  the  sex 
worship  of  that  period. 

Our  present  conventional  symbols  of  art 
are  very  easily  traced  to  ancient  symbols  of 
religion.  We  may  expect  these  to  be  phallic 
in  their  meaning,  to  just  the  extent  that 
phallicism  was  fundamental  in  the  rehgions 
where  these  symbols  originated.  From  the 
designs  of  some  of  the  ornamental  friezes  of 
Nineveh,  we  find  these  principles  illustrated. 
On  those  bas-reliefs  is  found  the  earliest  form 

♦The  Symbolical  Language  of  Ancient  Art  and  Mythology. 


60  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

of  art,  really  the  dawn  of  art  upon  early  civili- 
zation. Here  is  the  beginning  of  certain  de- 
signs which  were  destined  to  be  carried  to  the 
later  civiHzations  of  Greece,  Rome  and  prob- 
ably of  Egypt.  These  friezes  show  the  pine 
cone  alternating  with  a  modified  form  of  the 
lotus;  the  significance  of  which  symbols  we 
have  explained.  There  are  also  shown  animal 
representations  before  the  sacred  tree  or  grove, 
a  phallic  symbol.  From  these  forms  and 
others  were  designed  a  number  of  conventional 
symbols  which  were  used  throughout  a  much 
later  civilization.  (See  Nineveh  and  Its 
Remains,     A.  Layard.) 

One  sees  in  the  religions  of  antiquity,  espe- 
cially those  of  India,  Assyria,  Greece  and 
Egypt,  a  great  number  of  sacred  animal  repre- 
sentations. The  Bull  was  sacred  to  Osiris  in 
Egypt,  and  one  special  animal  w^as  attended 
with  all  the  pomp  of  a  god.  At  one  time  in 
Assyria  the  god  was  always  associated  with 
a  sacred  animal,  often  the  goat,  which  was 
supposed  to  possess  the  qualities  for  which  the 


of  Primitive  Races  61 

god  was  worshipped.  Out  of  this  developed 
the  ideal  animal  creations,  of  which  the  animal 
body  and  the  human  head  and  the  winged 
bulls  of  Nineveh  are  examples.  The  mystic 
centaurs  and  satyrs  originated  from  this 
source.  At  a  later  time  the  whole  was  human- 
ized, merely  the  horns,  ears  or  hoofs  remaining 
as  relics  of  the  animal  form. 

We  learn  that  in  these  religions  the  animal 
was  not  merely  worshipped  as  such.  It  was 
a  certain  quality  which  was  deified.  The 
Assyrian  goat  attendant  upon  the  deity,  was 
in  some  bas-reliefs,  not  only  represented  in 
priapic  attitudes,  but  a  female  sexual  symbol 
was  so  placed  as  to  signify  sexual  union.  We 
shall  show  later  that  certain  male  and  female 
symbolic  animals  were  so  placed  on  coins  as 
to  symbolically  indicate  sexual  union. 

An  animal  symbol  which  has  probably  been 
of  universal  use  is  that  of  the  snake  or  serpent. 
Serpent  worship  has  been  described  in  almost 
every  country  of  which  we  have  records  or 
legends.  In  Egypt,  we  find  the  serpent  on  the 
headdress  of  many  of   the  gods.     In  Africa 


62  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

the  snake  is  still  sacred  with  many  tribes. 
The  worship  of  the  hooded  snake  was  probably 
carried  from  India  to  Egypt.  The  dragon  on 
the  flag  and  porcelain  of  China  is  also  a  serpent 
symbol.  In  Central  America  were  found 
enormous  stone  serpents  carved  in  various 
forms.  In  Scandinavia  divine  honors  w^ere 
paid  to  serpents,  and  the  druids  of  Britain 
carried  on  a  similar  w^orship. 

Serpent  worship  has  been  show^n  by  many 
writers  to  be  a  form  of  sex  worship.  It  is  often 
phallic,  and  we  are  told  by  Hargrave  Jennings 
that  the  serpent  possibly  was  added  to  the 
male  and  female  symbols  to  represent  desire. 
Thus,  the  Hindu  women  carried  the  lingam 
in  procession  between  two  serpents;  and  in 
the  procession  of  Bacchus  the  Greeks  carried 
in  a  casket  the  phallus,  the  egg,  and  a  serpent. 

The  Greeks  also  had  a  composite  or  ideal 
figure.  Bays  were  added  to  the  head  of  a 
serpent  thereby  bringing  it  into  relation  with 
the  sun  god  Apollo;  or  the  crest  or  comb  of  a 
cock  was  added  with  similar  meaning. 


of  Primitive  Races  63 

Many  reasons  have  been  offered  to  explain 
why  the  serpent  has  been  used  to  represent 
the  male  generative  attribute.  Some  have 
called  attention  to  its  tenacity  of  life;  others 
have  spoken  of  its  supposed  mystic  power  of 
regeneration  by  casting  its  skin.  Again,  it 
seems  probable  that  the  form  is  of  symbolic 
significance.  However  this  may  be,  we  find 
that  this  universal  serpent  worship  of  primitive 
man  was  a  form  of  phallicism  so  prevalent  in 
former  times. 

Many  other  animals  may  be  mentioned. 
The  sacred  bull,  so  frequently  met  with  in 
Egypt,  Assyria  and  Greece,  was  a  form  under 
which  Bacchus  was  worshipped.  R.  P.  Knight 
speaks  as  follows:  "The  mystic  Bacchus,  or 
generative  power,  was  represented  under  this 
form,  not  only  upon  coins  but  upon  the  temples 
of  the  Greeks;  sometimes  simply  as  a  bull;  at 
other  times  as  a  human  face;  and  at  others 
entirely  human  except  the  horns  and  ears." 

We  would  probably  be  in  error  to  interpret 
all  these  animal  symbols  as  exclusively  phallic 
although    many    were    definitely    so.     Thus, 


64  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

while  Hermes  was  a  priapic  deity,  he  was  also 
a  deity  of  the  fields  and  the  harvests;  so  the 
bull  may  have  been  chosen  for  its  strength  as 
well  as  its  sexual  attributes. 

There  are  many  animals  which  were  sym- 
bolic of  the  female  generative  power.  The 
cow  is  frequently  so  employed.  The  Hindus 
have  the  image  of  a  cow  in  nearly  every  temple, 
the  deity  corresponding  to  the  Grecian  Venus. 
In  the  temple  of  Philae  in  Egypt,  Isis  is  repre- 
sented with  the  horns  and  ears  of  a  cow  joined 
to  a  beautiful  woman.  The  cow  is  still  sacred 
in  many  parts  of  Africa.  The  fish  symbol 
was  a  very  frequent  representative  of  woman, 
the  goddess  of  the  Phoenicians  being  repre- 
sented by  the  head  and  body  of  a  woman 
terminating  below  in  a  fish.  The  head  of 
Proserpine  is  frequently  surrounded  by  dol- 
phins. Indeed,  the  female  principle  is  regu- 
larly shown  by  some  representative  of  w^ater; 
fire  and  water  respectively  being  regarded  as 
male  and  female  principles. 

Male  and  female  attributes  are  often  com- 
bined on  coins  for  purposes  of  sexual  sym- 


of  Primitive  Races  65 

bolism.  R.  P.  Knight  explains  these  symbols 
as  follows:  "It  appears  therefore  that  the 
asterisk,  bull,  or  minotaur,  in  the  centre  of  a 
square  or  labyrinth  equally  mean  the  same  as 
the  Indian  lingam, — that  is  the  male  personi- 
fication of  the  productive  attribute  placed  in 
the  female,  or  heat  acting  upon  humidity. 
Sometimes  the  bull  is  placed  between  two 
dolphins,  and  sometimes  upon  a  dolphin  or 
another  fish;  and  in  other  instances  the  goat 
or  the  ram  occupy  the  same  situation.  Which 
are  all  different  modes  of  expressing  different 
modifications  of  the  same  meaning  in  symboH- 
cal  or  mystical  writings.  The  female  personi- 
fications frequently  occupy  the  same  place; 
in  which  case  the  male  personification  is  always 
upon  the  reverse  of  the  coin,  of  which  numer- 
ous instances  occur  in  those  of  Syracuse, 
Naples,  Tarentum,  and  other  cities. "  By  the 
asterisk  above  mentioned  the  writer  refers  to 
a  circle  surrounded  by  rays,  a  sun  symbol  of 
male  significance.  The  square  or  labyrinth 
is  the  lozenge  shaped  symbol  or  yoni  of  India. 
The  above  interpretations  throw  much  light 


66  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolisvi 

on  the  obscurity  of  the  animal  worship  of 
antiquity.  This  explains  the  partly  human- 
ized types,  and  the  final  appearance  of  a  human 
deity  with  only  animal  horns  remaining,  as 
representing  the  form  under  which  the  deity 
was  once  worshipped.  The  satyrs,  centaurs, 
and  other  animal  forms  are  all  part  of  these 
same  representations  and  are  similarly  ex- 
plained. 

Our  main  object  in  giving  the  above  account 
of  these  various  symbols  has  been  to  illustrate 
the  wide  prevalence  of  sex  worship  among 
primitive  races.  Another  end  as  well  has  been 
served;  our  study  gives  us  a  certain  insight 
into  the  type  of  mind  which  evolves  symbol- 
ism, and  so  a  few  remarks  on  the  use  of 
symbolism  as  here  illustrated  are  not  inappro- 
priate. 

We  feel  that  while  this  symbolism  may  in- 
dicate a  high  degree  of  mechanical  skill  in 
execution,  it  does  not  follow  that  it  expresses 
either  deep  or  complicated  intellectual  pro- 
cesses.    In  fact,  we  are  inclined  to  regard  such 


of  Primitive  Races  67 

symbolism  as  the  indication  of  a  comparatively 
simple  intellect.  It  appears  obscure  and  in- 
volved to  us,  because  we  do  not  understand 
the  symbols.  From  those  which  we  do  under- 
stand, the  meaning  is  graphically  but  simply 
expressed. 

On  coins,  bas-reliefs  and  monuments,  we 
find  the  majority  of  these  simple  emblems. 
If  the  desire  is  to  express  the  union  of  male 
and  female  principles,  a  male  symbolic  animal 
is  simply  placed  upon  the  corresponding  female 
symbol.  Thus,  a  goat  or  bull  may  be  placed 
upon  the  back  of  a  dolphin  or  other  fish.  This 
is  a  graphic  presentation  but  certainly  one  of 
a  most  simple  nature.  Sometimes  the  male 
symbol  is  on  one  side  of  the  coin  and  then  the 
female  is  always  on  the  reverse.  Unions  are 
made  which  do  not  occur  in  nature,  and  the 
representation  is  not  a  subtle  one. 

In  India,  if  there  was  a  desire  to  express  a 
number  of  attributes  of  the  deity,  another 
head  or  face  is  added  or  additional  arms  are 
added  to  hold  up  additional  symbols.  In 
Greece,  when  the  desire  was  to  express  the 


68  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

androgyne  qualities  of  the  deity,  a  beard  was 
added  to  the  female  face,  or  one-half  of  the 
statuette  represented  the  male  form,  the  other 
the  female.  Such  representations  do  not  in- 
dicate great  ingenuity,  however  skillfully  they 
may  be  executed. 


CHAPTER   III 

Sun  Myths,  Mysteries  and  Decadent 
Sex  Worship 

AS  is  generally  known,  traces  of  sun 
worship    are    found    in    almost 
every  country  of  which  we  have 
a  record.     In  Egypt  Ra  was  the 
supreme   sun   god   where   there 
was  very  elaborate  worship  con- 
ducted in  his  honor.     In  Greece,  Apollo  was 
attended  with  similar  festivities.     In  the  Norse 
mythology,  many  of  the  myths  deal  with  the 
worship  of  the  sun  in  one  form  or  another.     In 
England,  Stonehenge  and  the  entire  system  of 
the  Druids  had  to  do  with  solar  worship.     In 
Central  America  and  Peru,  temples  to  the  sun 
were  of  amazing  splendor,  furnished  as  they 
were  with  wonderful  displays  of  gold  and  sil- 

69 


70  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

ver.  The  North  American  Indians  have  many 
legends  relating  to  sun  worship  and  sacrifices 
to  the  sun,  and  China  and  Japan  give  numer- 
ous instances  of  the  same  rehgion.  Sun  wor- 
ship is  so  readily  shown  to  be  fundamental 
with  primitive  races  that  we  will  not  discuss 
it  in  detail  at  this  time,  but  rather  will  give 
the  conclusions  of  certain  writers  who  have 
explained  its  meaning. 

At  the  present  day,  the  sun  is  regularly  re- 
garded as  a  male  being,  the  earth  a  female. 
We  speak  of  Mother  Earth,  etc.;  in  former 
tim.es,    the    ancients    depicted   the    maternal 
characteristics  of  the  earth  in  a  much  more 
material  way.     Likewise  the  sun  was  a  male 
deity,  being  often  the  war  god,  vigorous  and 
all  powerful.     We    readily    see   to   what   an 
extent  the   male  sun   god   was  portrayed   in 
mythology    as    a    human    being.     In   many 
myths,  the  god    dies  during   the  Winter,  re- 
appears in  the  Spring,  is  lamented  in  the  Fall, 
etc.,  all  in  keeping  with  the  changes  in  the 
activity    of    the    sun    during    the    different 
seasons. 


of  Primitive  Races  71 

The  moon  was  associated  with  the  female 
deity  of  the  ancients.  Isis  is  accompanied  by 
the  moon  on  most  coins  and  emblems.  Venus 
has  the  same  symbols.  Indeed,  the  star  and 
crescent  of  our  modern  times,  of  the  Turkish 
flag  and  elsewhere,  are  in  reality  the  sun  and 
crescent  of  antiquity,  male  and  female  symbols 
in  conjunction.  Lunar  ornaments  of  pre- 
historic times  have  been  found  throughout 
England  and  Ireland,  and  doubtless  explain 
the  superstitions  about  the  moon  in  those 
countries.  The  same  prehistoric  ornaments 
are  found  in  Italy.  In  the  legends  of  the  North 
American  Indians,  Moon  is  Sun's  wife. 

The  full  extent  of  these  behefs  is  pointed 
out  by  Mr.  John  Newton  in  Assyrian  Grove 
Worship.  Here  we  see  that  the  ancient 
Hindus  gave  a  much  more  hteral  relationship 
between  the  sun  and  earth  than  we  are  accus- 
tomed to  express  in  modern  times.  He  states, 
"This  representative  of  the  union  of  the  sexes 
typifies  the  divine  Sakti,  or  productive  energy, 
in  union  with  the  pro-creative  or  generative 
power  as  seen  throughout  nature.     The  earth 


72  Sex  Worship  and  SymhoKsm 

was  the  primitive  pudendum  or  yoni  which  is 
fecundated  by  the  solar  heat,  the  sun,  the 
primitive  hnga,  to  whose  vivifying  rays  man 
and  animals,  plants  and  the  fruits  of  the  earth, 
owe  their  being  and  continued  existence. " 

It  is  not  possible  to  discuss  sun  worship  at 
any  length  without  at  the  same  time  discussing 
phallicism  and  serpent  worship.  Hargrave 
Jennings,  who  has  made  careful  study  of  these 
worships,  points  out  their  general  identity  in 
the  following  paragraph.  He  states:  *'The 
three  most  celebrated  emblems  carried  in  the 
Greek  mysteries  were  the  phallus,  the  egg,  and 
the  serpent;  or  otherwise  the  phallus,  the  yoni 
or  umbilicus,  and  the  serpent.  The  first  in 
each  case  is  the  emblem  of  the  sun  or  of  fire, 
as  the  male  or  active  generative  power.  The 
second  denotes  the  passive  nature  or  female 
principle  or  the  emblem  of  water.  The  third 
symbol  indicates  the  destroyer,  the  reformer 
or  the  renewer,  (the  uniter  of  the  two)  and  thus 
the  preserver  or  perpetuator  eternally  renew- 
ing itself.  The  universality  of  serpentine 
worship  (or  Phallic  adoration)  is  attested  by 


of  Primitive  Races  73 

emblematic  sculptures  or  architecture  all  the 
world  over." 

The  author  of  the  Round  Towers  of  Ireland 
in  discussing  the  symbols  of  sun  worship, 
serpent  worship  and  phallicism,  found  on  the 
same  tablet,  practically  reiterates  these  state- 
ments. He  says :  "  I  have  before  me  the  same- 
ness of  design  which  belonged  indifferently  to 
solar  worship  and  to  phallic.  I  shall,  ere  long, 
prove  that  the  same  characteristic  extends 
equally  to  ophiolatreia ;  and  if  they  all  three 
be  identical,  as  it  thus  necessarily  follows, 
where  is  the  occasion  for  surprise  at  our  meet- 
ing the  sun,  phallus  and  serpent,  the  con- 
stituent symbols  of  each,  embossed  upon  the 
same  table  and  grouped  under  the  same  archi- 
trave?" 

By  a  number  of  references,  we  could  readily 
show  the  identity  of  all  these  worships.  The 
preceding  paragraphs  give,  in  summary  form, 
the  conclusions  of  those  writers  who  have  made 
such  religions  their  special  study.  We  shall 
not  exemplify  this  further,  but  will  now  point 
out  the  general  relationship  of  sun  worship  to 


74  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

the  religious  festivals  and  mythology  of  the 
Ancients.  This  relationship  becomes  impor- 
tant when  it  is  appreciated  that  the  sun  worship 
expressed  in  the  mysteries  is  also  a  part  of 
phallicism.  On  some  of  these  festive  occasions 
the  phallus  was  carried  in  the  front  of  the  pro- 
cession and  at  other  times  the  egg,  the  phallus 
and  the  serpent  were  carried  in  the  secret 
casket. 

The  Ancients  expressed  their  religious  be- 
liefs in  a  dramatic  way  on  a  number  of  occa- 
sions throughout  the  year.  The  festivities 
were  held  in  the  Spring,  Autumn,  or  Winter. 
These  were  to  commemorate  the  activities  of 
the  sun,  his  renewed  activity  in  the  Spring 
calHng  forth  rejoicing  and  his  decline  in  the 
Fall  being  the  cause  of  sorrow  and  lamenta- 
tion. As  well  as  the  festivities,  there  were  the 
various  mysteries,  such  as  the  Eleusinia,  the 
Dionysia  and  the  Bacchanalia.  These  were 
conducted  by  the  priests  who  moulded  reh- 
gious  beliefs  and  guarded  their  secrets.  The 
mysteries  were  of  the  utmost  importance  and 


of  Primitive  Races  75 

the  most  sacred  of  religious  conceptions  were 
here  dramatized. 

Mythology  also  gave  expression  to  the  reli- 
gious ideas  of  the  time  and  we  find  that  the 
most  important  myths,  dramatically  produced 
at  the  religious  festivals,  were  sun  myths. 

The  annual  festivities  and  mysteries  will  be 
discussed  together  because  both  were  intended 
to  dramatize  the  same  beliefs.  Both  were 
under  priestly  control  and  so  were  national 
institutions.  The  festivals  were  for  the  com- 
mon people  but  the  mysteries  were  fully  un- 
derstood only  to  the  initiated. 

While  no  very  clear  account  of  the  mysteries 
has  been  given,  a  certain  theme  seems  to  run 
through  them  all,  and  this  is  found  in  the 
myths  as  well.  A  drama  is  enacted,  in  which 
the  god  is  lost,  is  lamented,  and  is  found  or 
returns  amid  great  rejoicing.*  This  was  en- 
acted in  Egypt  where  the  mourning  was  for 
Osiris;  and  in  Greece  for  Adonis,  and  later  for 
Bacchus.  All  these  are,  of  course,  sun  gods, 
and  the  whole  dramatization  or  myth  is  in 
keeping  with  the  activities  of  the  sun. 

*The  Enactment  of  a  Rebirth. 


76  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

On  these  occasions,  the  main  object  seems 
to  have  been  to  restore  the  lost  god,  or  to  in- 
sure his  reappearance.  The  women  took  the 
leading  part  and  mourned  for  Osiris,  Adonis 
or  Bacchus.  They  wandered  about  the  coun- 
try at  night  in  the  most  frenzied  fashion, 
avoided  all  men  and  sought  the  god.  At  times, 
during  the  winter  festival,  the  quest  would  be 
fruitless.  In  the  Spring,  when  they  indulged 
themselves  in  all  sorts  of  orgies  and  extrava- 
gances, Adonis  was  found. 

An  underlying  motive  appears  to  have  been 
to  enact  a  drama  in  which  the  deity  was  sup- 
posed to  exercise  his  procreative  function  by 
sexual  union  with  the  women.  This  was  an 
ideal  which  they  wished  to  express  dramatical- 
ly. In  order  to  realize  this  ideal  obstacles 
were  introduced  that  they  might  be  over- 
come; in  the  old  myth,  Adonis  was  emascu- 
lated under  a  pine  tree,  and  in  Egypt  Osiris 
was  similarly  mutilated,  his  sex  organs  being 
lost.  But  at  the  festivals  it  was  portrayed 
that  Adonis  was  found,  and  in  the  myth, 
Osiris  was  restored  to  Isis  in  the  form  of  Horus 


of  Primitive^  Races  77 

(the  morning  sun).  In  a  number  of  myths, 
the  god  is  said  to  have  visited  the  earth  to 
cohabit  ate  with  the  women,  an  occurrence 
which  was  doubtless  desired,  in  order  that  the 
deistic  attributes  might  be  continued  in  the 
race.  Thus,  judging  from  what  we  have  been 
able  to  learn  of  this  subject,  the  worship  ex- 
pressed in  the  mysteries  revolved  about  sexual 
union,  the  desire  being  to  dramatize  the  con- 
tinued activity  of  deistic  qualities. 

This  character  of  many  of  the  festivals  and 
mysteries  is  very  evident.  In  the  Eleusinian 
mysteries  the  rape  of  Persephone  by  Pluto,  the 
winter  god,  is  portrayed.  The  mother,  De- 
meter,  mourns  for  her  daughter.  Her  mourn- 
ing is  dramatically  carried  out  by  a  large 
procession,  and  this  enactment  requires  several 
days.  Finally  Persephone  is  restored.  The 
earlier  part  of  the  festival  w^as  for  dramatic 
interest,  and  the  real  object  was  the  union  of 
Persephone  with  Bacchus.  "The  union  of 
Persephone  with  Bacchus,  i.  e.,  with  the  sun 
god,  whose  work  is  to  promote  fruitfulness,  is 
an  idea  special  to  the  mysteries  and  means 


78  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

the  union  of  humanity  with  the  godhead,  the 
consummation  aimed  at  in  the  mystic  rites. 
Hence,  in  all  probability  the  central  teaching 
of  the  mysteries  was  Personal  Immortality, 
analogue  of  the  return  of  the  bloom  to  plants 
in  Spring."* 

The  mysteries  of  Samothrace  were  probably 
simpler.  Here  the  phallus  w^as  carried  in  pro- 
cession as  the  emblem  of  Hermes.  In  the 
Dionysian  mysteries  which  were  held  in  mid- 
winter, the  quest  of  the  women  was  unsuccess- 
ful and  the  festival  was  repeated  in  the  Spring. 
The  Roman  mysteries  of  Bacchus  were  of 
much  later  development,  and  consequently 
became  very  debased.  Men  as  well  as  women 
eventually  came  to  take  part  in  the  ceremony, 
and  the  whole  affair  degenerated  into  the 
grossest  of  sexual  excesses  and  perversions. 

We  have  stated  what  appears  to  us  to  have 
been  the  underlying  motives  of  the  religious 
festivals  and  mysteries;  namely,  the  enact- 
ment of  a  drama  in  which  the  reproductive 
qualities  of  the  deity  were  portrayed.     The 

*Dr.  Otto  Rhyn,  Mysteria. 


of  Primitive  Races  79 

phallus  was  carried  in  procession  for  this  pur- 
pose and  the  women  dramatized  the  motive 
as  searching  for  the  god.  Our  account  can  be 
regarded  as  little  more  than  an  outline,  but  it 
is  sufficient  for  our  present  purposes.  It  in- 
dicates that  the  mysteries  give  an  expression 
of  phallic  worship,  just  as  do  the  various 
monuments  of  art  and  religion  to  which  we 
have  referred.  It  may  also  be  said  that  this 
same  worship  is  represented  in  what  may  be 
termed  early  literature,  for  much  of  the  early 
mythology  deals  with  the  same  subject.  The 
study  of  origins  in  mythology,  however,  can- 
not be  dealt  with  adequately  at  present. 

In  order  to  deal  fully  with  this  subject  it  is 
necessary  to  discuss  another  important  phase 
in  the  worship  of  sex.  We  refer  to  the  deca- 
dence or  degeneracy  of  this  worship,  which  oc- 
curred after  people  had  outgrown  these  simple 
religious  conceptions.  The  decadence  of  sex 
worship  is  observed  during  the  early  centuries 
of  Christianity  and  traces  of  it  are  seen 
throughout  the  middle  ages.     In  the  decadence 


80  Sex  Worship  and  Syinbolism 

of  sex  worship  we  are  able  to  observe  how  an 
important  motive  in  the  race  finds  expression 
in  the  thoughts  and  conduct  of  people  after 
the  underlying  promptings  w^hich  originated 
it  have  long  since  ceased  to  be  dynamic.  This 
decadent  stage  of  a  motive  is  therefore  of 
considerable  importance;  w^e  shall  return  to 
its  interpretation  in  the  discussion  of  analogies 
of  development"  between  motives  in  the  in- 
dividual and  motives  in  the  race. 

In  India,*  with  the  Hindus,  there  still  exists 
an  elaborate  form  of  sex  worship.  The  Phallus 
is  carried  on  festive  occasions,  it  still  occupies 
the  most  sacred  spot  in  the  sanctuary,  dancing 
girls  are  devoted  to  the  service  of  the  temple, 
and  many  other  customs  associated  with  phal- 
lic rites  are  carried  on  much  as  they  were  cen- 
turies ago  in  the  Ancient  World.  It  is  said 
that  there  are  thirty  million  phalli  in  India 
and  that  a  phallus  is  found  in  nearly  every 
Hindu  household. 

Whether  phallic  worship  as  now  practiced 
by  the  Hindus  has  the  same  meaning  or  value 

*J.  B.  Pratt,  India  and  Its  Faiths. 


o/  Primitive  Races  81 

that  it  had  when  at  its  height  in  ancient  civiU- 
zation  is  difficult  to  say;  there  are  evidences 
to  show  that  this  worship  in  India  is  now 
carried  out  somewhat  as  a  matter  of  form  and 
custom  only,  and  that  its  significance  is  not 
thoroughly  appreciated  except  possibly  by  the 
few.  If  this  observation  is  correct,  the  deca- 
dent state  of  sex  worship  which  was  so  preva- 
lent in  Western  Europe  during  the  early  cen- 
turies of  Christianity  and  throughout  the 
middle  ages,  may  be  developing  in  India  as 
well. 

Whatever  may  be  the  present  condition  in 
India  regarding  this  worship,  we  are  left  in  no 
uncertainty  as  to  the  condition  of  sex  worship 
during  its  decadent  period  in  Europe.  It  is 
not  necessary  here  to  dwell  upon  the  licentious- 
ness and  extravagances  of  conduct  which  were 
manifest  at  this  time,  as  a  general  outline  will 
suffice  for  present  purposes. 

We  have  observed  that  the  mysteries  in 
which  phallic  principles  were  taught  eventual- 
ly became  degraded  in  both  Greece  and  Rome. 
When  these  mysteries  originated,  they  em- 


82  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

bodied  serious  religious  conceptions,  respected 
by  all;  they  were  the  expression  of  racial  feel- 
ings, and  however  out  of  accord  with  present 
day  sentiments  they  may  have  been,  they  can 
in  no  way  be  considered  immoral.  This  can- 
not be  said  of  the  mysteries  of  a  subsequent 
period.  Every  sort  of  perversion  and  practice 
was  indulged  in.  They  were  finally  forbidden 
by  the  State,  but  were  carried  on  secretly  for 
some  time  longer.  With  the  coming  of  Chris- 
tianity they  were  very  bitterly  opposed,  and 
finally  as  national  institutions,  they  ceased  to 
exist. 

Later  we  shall  indicate  in  more  detail  why 
the  worship  of  sex  was  discarded.  It  may  be 
stated  here  that  as  the  development  of  the 
race  continued  these  simple  conceptions  of  a 
deity  failed  to  express  all  religious  desires; 
primitive  phallic  principles  lost  their  dynamic 
value,  and  longings  and  desires,  the  result  of 
higher  mental  development, found  expression 
in  new  religious  usages. 

It  has  just  been  stated  that  the  mysteries 
ceased  to  exist  as  national  institutions.    This 


of  Primitive  Races  83 

is  true,  but  while  they  were  discarded  by  the 
great  mass  of  the  people,  certain  elements  of 
the  race  clung  to  these  primitive  beliefs  and 
practices  for  years.  When  the  mysteries  were 
officially  forbidden  they  were  carried  on  secret- 
ly in  a  somewhat  altered  form.  Secret  socie- 
ties were  formed,  or  some  of  the  Eastern 
Mystic  Cults  w^ere  made  use  of  in  order  to 
carry  out  their  teachings.  These  secret  socie- 
ties took  over  many  of  the  principles  of  phalli- 
cism  such  as  were  taught  in  the  mysteries, 
and  so,  side  by  side  with  the  Christian  rehgion, 
the  earlier  beliefs  continued. 

The  Gnostics*  are  an  example  of  one  of  these 
societies.  They  existed  in  early  Christian 
times  and  the  society  was  probably  formed 
long  before  the  advent  of  Christianity.  It  is 
difficult  to  learn  a  great  deal  about  the  Gnos- 
tics, but  some  of  their  beliefs  are  known. 
Gnostic  symbols  consisted  for  a  great  part  of 
phallic  emblems,  it  having  been  shown  that 
their  gems  and  secret  talismans  were  of  phallic 
significance.    The  Gnostics  also  gave  evidences 

*R.  P.  Knight,  the  Worship  of  Priapus. 


84  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

of  reverting  to  a  more  primitive  civilization 
in  other  than  reUgious  spheres.  In  their  social 
organization  they  advocated  communal  mar- 
riage, wives  being  held  in  common.  This  type 
of  social  organization  is  quite  general  in  primi- 
tive tribes.  With  the  Gnostics  we  see  a  rever- 
sion to  a  more  primitive  form  of  religious  and 
social  life. 

The  Rosier ucians*  of  the  middle  ages  are 
rather  better  known,  although  this  order  also 
is  very  obscure.  The  Rosicrucians  as  well  as 
the  Gnostics  had  phaUic  emblems.  They 
worshipped  in  a  form  very  similar  to  that 
under  which  Priapus  was  worshipped.  More- 
over, as  was  the  case  with  a  number  of  these 
secret  societies,  they  introduced  perverse  sex- 
ual practices.  They  are  said  not  only  to  have 
countenanced  homosexuality,  but  to  have 
made  it  one  of  the  principles  of  their  belief. 
At  the  same  time,  they  scorned  all  association 
with  women.  Out  of  this  belief  they  built  up 
a  philosophy    in   which  the  fire  worship   of 

*Hargrave  Jennings:  The  Rosicrucians. 


of  Primitive  Races  85 

antiquity     played    a   part,    and    with   which 
alchemy  was  associated. 

In  the  practice  of  homosexuality*  and  in 
the   development  of  a  philosophy   in   which 
women  played  no  part,  are  seen  sentiments 
quite  similar  to  those  which  existed  in  the 
later  days  of  Greece.     At  this  time  in  Greece, 
patriarchy  had  driven  out  the  last  vestiges  of 
matriarchy,  female  deities  had  lost  their  fol- 
lowers to  a  great  extent,  and  the  devotion  was 
paid  to  male  gods  and  heroes.     This  change 
seems  to  have  produced  a  certain  contempt 
for  women.     A  number  of  writers  have  pointed 
out   this   reaction,    and   so   probably   in   the 
philosophy  of  the    Rosicrucians  and  in  their 
practices,  are  seen  an  expression  of  these  same 
sentiments.     Similar     sentiments     were    ex- 
pressed by  other  secret  organizations   and  in 
some  philosophies  of  a  latter  period.     In  this 
respect,    therefore,    the    Rosicrucians     were 
probably  reverting  to  beliefs  and  feelings  of  an 
earlier  date. 

*J.  A.  Symonds,  A  Problem  in  Greek  Ethics.  Morris  J.  Karpas, 
Socrates  in  the  Ught  of  Modem  Psychopath© logy .  Journal  of  Abnor- 
mal Psychology.     1915. 


86  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

The  Knights  Templar  were  another  secret 
society  of  the  middle  ages  of  a  somewhat  later 
time.     The  same  can  be  said  of  them  as  of  the 
former   societies.     They   carried   on   the   old 
phalhc  and  mystic  rites  in  modified  form,  and 
set  up  their  beliefs  in  opposition  to  Christian- 
ity.    When  the  Knights  Templar  were  initi- 
ated they  were  made  to  deny  Christ  and  the 
Virgin  Mary,  to  spit  on  the  cross,  etc.     They 
also  were  charged  with  homosexuality,  and 
with  them  as  with  the   Rosicrucians  and  the 
Gnostics,  homosexuality  was  a  part  of  their 
teachings.     They  likewise  advocated  commu- 
nal marriage.     At  their   secret  meetings  and 
initiations  many  vices  existed;  idols  were  wor- 
shipped, phallic  features  were  introduced,  and 
the  entire  ceremony  was  similar  to  the  mys- 
teries of  antiquity. 

Should  there  be  any  doubt  regarding  the 
association  of  these  secret  societies  of  the 
middle  ages  with  the  mysteries  of  the  Ancients, 
this  doubt  is  at  once  dispelled  when  we  read 
of  the  practices  of  a  remarkable  secret  organi- 
zation described  as  the  "Witches' Sabbath." 


of  Primitive  Races  87 

Any  one  who  has  read  a  description  of  the 
Ancient  Mysteries  and  of  the  initiation  cere- 
monies of  primitive  tribes  cannot  but  see  in 
the  Witches  Sabbath  a  remarkable  similarity 
to  the  earlier  mysteries.  R.  P.  Knight*  has 
given  us  a  description  of  the  Witches'  Sabbath 
and  he  quotes  freely  from  a  French  writerf 
who  has  given  full  details.  We  shall  use  such 
parts  of  these  descriptions  as  are  necessary  to 
illustrate  these  practices  during  the  middle 
ages. 

The  Witches'  Sabbath  is  described  by  these 
writers  as  it  existed  during  the  latter  part  of 
the  fourteenth  century.  It  was  held  on  four 
occasions  during  the  year,  being  a  festival 
corresponding  to  the  Priapiea  and  Bacchana- 
lia of  former  days.  Women  played  the  leading 
part  just  as  in  the  Bacchanalia.  There  were 
minor  and  major  festivals  corresponding  to 
the  lesser  and  greater  Eleusinia.  Pilgrimages 
were  made  at  this  time,  which  "resembled  a 
fair  of  merchants  mingled  together,  furious 

*  Worship  of  Priapus. 

fPierre  de  Lancre,  Tableau  de  I'lnconstaiice  des  Mauvais  Anges 
et  Demons. 


88  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

in  transports,  arriving  from  all  parts — a  meet- 
ing and  a  mingling  of  a  hundred  thousand  sub- 
jects, sudden  and  transitory,  novel,  it  is  true, 
but  of  a  frightful  novelty  which  offends  the  eye 
and  sickens  you." 

A  symbolic  representation  of  Satan  presided 
at  the  festivals,  and  he  assumed  a  number  of 
disguises,  in  all  of  which  we  recognize  Priapus 
in  degenerated  form.  He  very  often  appeared 
in  the  disguise  of  a  goat;  in  fact  the  meeting 
place  is  called  "Goat's  Heath." 

The  association  of  the  goat  with  priapic 
ceremonies  has  already  been  mentioned.  At 
times  the  meeting  was  at  cross  roads,  a  favorite 
location  for  Hermes,  as  stated  elsewhere. 

Satan  assumed  a  number  of  forms  on  these 
occasions  other  than  that  of  the  bearded  goat. 
He  was  at  times  a  serpent,  or  again  an  ox  of 
brass.  He  was  also  represented  as  the  trunk 
of  a  tree,  sometimes  as  the  oak.  Priapus 
is  readily  recognized  in  all  these  various 
disguises. 

On  these  festive  occasions  we  see  remnants 
of  the  fire  worship  of  primitive  tribes.     Satan 


of  Primitive  Races  89 

often  carried  fire  in  some  form  or  other  and 
the  rite  of  purification  by  fire,  a  residual  of  the 
earher  need-fire  rites,  was  enacted.  Particu- 
lar significance  was  attached  to  the  generative 
organs,  and  it  is  needless  to  say  that  all  kinds 
of  sexual  excesses  ensued.  Satan  was  held 
to  be  the  father  and  protector  of  all.  Some 
of  the  women  referred  to  the  Witches'  Sabbath 
as  an  earthly  paradise  and  they  said  that  the 
festival  had  all  the  features  of  a  wedding  cele- 
bration. 

A  number  of  absurd  dances  and  other 
burlesques  were  introduced.  In  these  one  sees 
the  burlesques  and  dances  of  the  earlier  mys- 
teries and  of  the  still  more  primitive  initiation 
ceremonies  of  tribes  in  various  countries. 
The  dance  was  often  held  around  a  stone, — 
the  significance  of  which  has  already  been 
explained. 

If  in  the  above  account  of  these  mystic 
ceremonies  in  the  middle  ages  a  detailed 
enumeration  of  all  forms  of  sexual  depravities 
has  not  been  given,  it  is  not  because  they  did 
not  exist.     Our  main  object  has  been  to  show 


90  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

that  sex  worship  as  practiced  during  the  middle 
ages,  was  an  expression  of  the  decadence  of  a 
racial  motive.  No  odium  was  formerly  con- 
nected with  this  motive,  but  when  an  attempt 
was  made  to  associate  these  primitive  feelings 
and  beliefs  with  a  civilization  wdiich  had 
outgrown  such  conceptions,  many  undesirable 
features  were  in  evidence. 

Should  further  proof  of  the  association  of 
the  Gnostics,  the  Rosicrucians,  the  Templars, 
etc.,  with  the  ancient  priapic  rites  be  necessary, 
this  proof  is  found  in  numerous  talismans, 
amulets,  sculpture  on  earthen  and  glassware, 
which  were  associated  with  these  societies. 
These  amulets  are  all  plainly  phallic  in  design ; 
R.  P.  Knight  shows  a  number  of  vases,  lamps, 
etc.,  on  which  phallic  symbols  are  found. 
These  articles  were  probably  used  at  the 
secret  rites. 

Moreover,  we  find  that  many  of  these  small 
phalU  were  worn  for  personal  decoration;  and 
here  we  come  to  a  still  lower  decadence  in  sex 
worship, — the  period  of  superstition.  A  phal- 
lus was  worn  as  a  charm,  somewhat  as  a  fetish 


of  Primitive  Races  91 

to  ward  off  disease.  Such  charms  were  sup- 
posed to  bring  good  luck  and  prosperity  to  the 
owner  and  they  were  used  particularly  as  a 
charm  against  barreness  in  women.  A  sign 
which  could  be  made  by  the  hand,  the  phallic 
hand,  was  used  as  a  protection  against  the 
evil  eye.  Ancient  representations  of  Priapus 
have  been  found  with  the  hand  in  this  attitude. 
As  further  evidence  to  show  the  total  degener- 
acy of  these  beliefs,  it  may  be  said  that  the 
phallic  hand  was  adopted  as  a  symbol  of 
prostitution. 

In  this  we  see  the  worship  of  sex  degenerated 
to  its  lowest  form,  i.  e.,  a  superstition  to  be 
followed  by  the  lower  classes  and  the  ignorant. 
The  phallus  which  once  had  been  attended 
with  all  ceremony  had  become  a  mere  charm. 

The  conclusions  which  R.  P.  Knight  reaches 
in  relation  to  these  decadent  beliefs  are  worthy 
of  remark.  He  states:*  "We  have  thus  seen 
in  how  many  various  forms  the  old  phallic,  or 
priapic  worship  presented  itself  in  the  middle 
ages,  and  how  pertinaciously  it  held  its  ground 

♦Worship  of  Priapus. 


92  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

through  all  the  changes  and  development  of 
society,  until  at  length  we  find  all  the  circum- 
stances of  the  ancient  priapic  orgies,  as  well  as 
the  mediaeval  additions  combined  in  that  great 
and  extensive  superstitition, — witchcraft.  At 
all  times  the  initiated  were  believed  to  have 
obtained  thereby  powers  which  were  not 
possessed  by  the  uninitiated,  and  they  only 
were  supposed  to  know  about  the  form  of 
invocation  of  the  deities  who  were  the  objects 
of  this  worship,  which  deities  the  Christian 
teachers  invariably  transformed  into  devils. 
The  vows  which  people  of  antiquity  addressed 
to  Priapus,  those  of  the  middle  ages  addressed 
to  Satan.  The  Witches'  Sabbath  was  simply 
the  last  form  which  the  Priapeia  and  Libernalia 
assumed  in  Western  Europe,  and  in  its  various 
decadences  all  the  incidents  of  those  great 
and  Hcentious  orgies  of  the  Romans  were 
reproduced."  It  is  little  wonder  that  the 
persecution  of  witches  by  the  Christians  long 
survived  the  middle  ages. 

Hargrave  Jennings*  has  referred  to  phallic 

*The  Rosicrucians. 


of  Primitive  Races  93 

principles  in  a  number  of  the  early  chivalrie 
societies  of  England.  He  states  that  the 
Knights  of  the  Round  Table  of  King  Arthur 
had  phallic  emblems  and  other  features  similar 
to  those  of  the  Rosicrucians.  The  same 
author  submits  considerable  evidence  to  in- 
dicate that  the  Order  of  the  Garter  is  of  much 
greater  antiquity  than  is  generally  believed 
and  that  phallic  principles  were  associated 
with  it.  A  similar  contention  was  made  re- 
garding the  symbolism  associated  with  the 
Holy  Grail,  a  sacred  vessel  apparently  con- 
nected with  primitive  rites  at  a  time  far  ante- 
dating Christianity.  Associated  with  the  old 
Churches  in  Ireland  similar  phaUic  emblems 
have  been  found,  as  well  as  in  Europe. 
These  emblems  were  used  as  charms  by  the 
primitive  people. 

We  stated  above  that  the  early  deities  of 
primitive  tribes  were  regarded  as  demons  dur- 
ing the  Christian  period.  In  Teutonic  beliefs 
phalhc  deities  were  developed  quite  compar- 
able to  those  of  Greece  and  Rome.  These 
Teutonic  deities  came  to  be  regarded  as  hob- 


94  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

goblins  during  the  middle  ages.  They  were 
supposed  to  be  found  in  lonely  places  and  in 
forests,  and  to  emerge  at  times  in  order  to 
indulge  in  all  sorts  of  sexual  excesses,  much 
as  the  fauns  and  satyrs  of  antiquity.  The 
English  had  a  similar  hobgoblin  in  Robin 
Goodfellow.  This  fictitious  character  is  rep- 
resented in  priapic  attitudes  in  a  number  of 
illustrations  of  old  English  ballads.  He  was 
doubtless  Priapus  of  antiquity  transformed 
into  a  goblin. 

Why  should  superstitions  of  this  kind  live 
century  after  century?  Frazer*  has  given  us 
the  answer:  "Superstitions  survive  because 
while  they  shock  the  views  of  the  enlightened 
members  of  the  community,  they  are  still  in 
harmony  with  the  thoughts  and  feelings  of 
others,  who,  though  they  are  drilled  by  their 
betters  into  an  appearance  of  civilization, 
remain  barbarians  or  savages  at  heart  .  .  . 
I  have  been  led  into  making  these  remarks 
by  the  wish  to  explain  why  it  is  that  super- 
stitions of  all  sorts,  political,  moral  and  reli- 

*The  Scope  of  Social  Anthropology;  Psyche's  Task. 


of  Primitive  Races  95 

gious,  survive  among  people  who  have  the 
opportunity  of  knowing  better.  The  reason 
is  that  the  better  ideas,  which  are  constantly 
forming  in  the  upper  stratum  have  not  filtered 
through  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest  minds. 
Such  a  filtration  is  generally  slow,  and  by  the 
time  the  new  emotions  have  penetrated  to  the 
bottom,  if  indeed  they  ever  get  there,  they  are 
often  obsolete  and  superseded  by  others  at 
the  top." 


CHAPTER  IV 

Interpretations 

HAVING  followed  the  worship  of 
sex  through  its  various  phases, 
it  is  now  desirable  to  offer  such 
interpretations  of  its  meaning 
as  the  facts  appear  to  warrant. 
What  was  the  significance  of 
this  elaborate  ritual;  why  did  it  develop,  and 
how  is  it  to  be  interpreted  from  a  biological 
standpoint  in  mental  evolution.  The  history 
of  the  development  of  this  ritual  may  be  of 
considerable  interest  in  itself  but  we  wish  now 
to  consider  the  subject  from  the  biological 
rather  than  the  historical  standpoint.  It  re- 
mains to  be  shown  what  ends  these  beliefs 
serve  in  the  evolution  of  the  primitive  mind, 
or  at  least  what  they  represent,  and  what 
vestiges  of  them  remain  in  our  thoughts  and 
feelings  of  today.     Only  from  this  standpoint 

96 


of  Primitive  Races  97 

can   the   study   of   primitive   motives   be   of 
value  to  the  Psychologist  and  the  Psychiatrist. 

In  order  to  answer  the  above  questions,  it 
is  desirable  to  refer  to  a  still  more  primitive 
form  of  religious  belief,  since  our  understand- 
ing of  this  earlier  reUgion  offers  a  key  to  the 
understanding  of  sex  worship.  We  refer  to 
the  various  forms  of  nature  worship  found  in 
primitive  tribes.  These  nature  rites  consist 
of  rain  making  ceremonies,  sun  dances,  and 
numerous  other  procedures  which  are  carried 
out  by  primitive  people  because  of  their  sup- 
posed service  in  increasing  the  products  of  the 
earth.  Fortunately  these  rites  are  quite  clear- 
ly understood.  It  has  been  shown  by  many 
investigators  that  they  are  enacted  to  increase 
the  food  supply.  They  are  actuated  by  the 
desire  on  the  part  of  primitive  people  to  meet 
nutritive  demands. 

Now  this  knowledge  enables  us  to  under- 
stand phaUic  ceremonies.  A  very  distinct 
parallehsm  is  seen  between  the  nature  worship 
rites  and  phalhc  rites.  We  feel  that  it  is  not 
diflScult  to  show  that  while  the  earlier  rites 


98  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

were  in  accord  with  nutritive  demands,  phallic 
ceremonies  were  an  expression  of  the  desire 
for  human  reproduction.  We  shall  now  di- 
gress somewhat  in  order  to  discuss  nature 
rites  in  some  detail,  as  thereby  the  phaUic 
rites  are  very  readily  explained. 

Among  many  of  the  Indian  tribes  of  North 
America,  the  tribes  of  Central  Africa,  the 
primitive  races  of  Australia,  the  lower  hill 
tribes  of  India,  and  others,  we  find  religious 
ceremonies  all  of  which  are  carried  out  in 
much  the  same  way  and  with  the  same  object 
in  view.  We  are  all  familiar  with  the  rain 
making  ceremonies  of  the  North  American 
Indians;  we  find  frequent  reference  in  litera- 
ture to  the  various  Spring  festivals  of  the 
Egyptians  at  which  grain  is  grown,  etc.,  and 
in  which  vegetative  nature  is  deified.  A  great 
many  of  the  nations  of  antiquity  had  similar 
rites  to  increase  the  produce  of  the  earth. 

When  the  meaning  of  this  general  type  of 
ceremony  is  understood,  it  is  found  that  it  has 
the  same  significance  throughout.  As  stated 
above,   these  ceremonies  are  enacted  to  in- 


of  Primitive  Races  99 

crease  the  food  supply,  either  directly  or  in- 
directly. If  it  is  a  dry  and  arid  locality,  as 
is  the  case  with  our  Western  Indians,  a  rain 
making  rite  is  performed.  This  is  a  religious 
procedure  in  which  various  processes  of  magic 
are  utilized.  This  explains  the  importance 
of  the  thunder  god  as  a  deity,  so  clearly  illus- 
trated by  Miss  J.  Harrison.  The  thunder 
rites  are  to  increase  the  rain  fall,  and  the  magic 
in  such  procedures  is  imitative;  that  is,  a 
sound  similar  to  thunder  is  produced,  as 
primitive  man  believes  thunder  to  cause  the 
rainfall  since  it  often  precedes  it.  Miss  Harri- 
son* has  given  a  picture  of  an  early  thunder 
god  of  the  Chinese, — a  deity  surrounded  by 
many  objects,  which  he  strikes  to  cause 
thunder.  Rattles  made  of  gourds  are  used 
for  the  same  purpose  with  some  tribes;  or 
down,  etc.,  may  be  used  in  imitation  of  clouds, 
and  water  spurted  about  to  represent  rain. 
In  many  instances  a  secret  ceremonial  object 
is  used, — a  bull  roarer  in  the  rain  making 
ceremonies.     This  is  an  object  which,  when 

*Themis. 


100  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

whirled  about,  makes  a  sound  in  imitation  of 
thunder.  It  represents  a  sort  of  thunder  deity 
and  so  is  associated  with  rainfall  It  is  held 
very  sacred,  being  carefully  guarded  from 
view  and  kept  under  custody  by  the  head  men 
of  the  tribe. 

In  a  primitive  civilization  engaged  in  pas- 
toral pursuits  where  the  herd  is  the  important 
source  of  food  supply  the  ceremony  centers 
about  the  dairy  and  the  herd.  In  Southern 
India,  among  the  Toda  tribes,*  where  the 
buffalo  herd  is  sacred,  this  is  quite  apparent. 
Certain  buffaloes  are  attended  by  the  priests 
only,  special  dairies  are  sacred,  and  the  entire 
religious  development  has  to  do  w^ith  the 
sanctity  of  milk.  The  dairy  utensils  are 
sacred,  and  one  special  vessel,  the  one  which 
contains  the  fermenting  material,  is  held  in 
particular  veneration.  This  vessel  is  kept  in 
a  special  part  of  the  dairy,  its  location  cor- 
responding to  the  sanctuary  of  a  temple.  If 
by  chance  the  ferment  does  not  act  properly, 
it  is  manufactured  again  by  an  elaborate  rite. 

*W.  H.  R.  Rivers,  The  Todas, 


oj  Primitive  Races  101 

Here  we  see  that  the  rehgious  rites  have  to  do 
with  the  food  supply  and  fitting  sacred  cere- 
monials are  performed. 

When  the  food  supply  depends  upon  animal 
food  a  direct  analogy  in  the  ceremonies  is  seen. 
Some  Siberian  tribes*  perform  a  rite  to  in- 
crease the  supply  of  bear  meat.  A  young  bear 
is  captured,  suckled  by  a  woman,  and  assumes 
the  aspects  of  a  sacred  animal.  It  is  finally 
slain  in  a  ritual  way,  and  the  entire  perform- 
ance is  for  the  purpose  of  increasing  the  supply 
of  bear  meat. 

A  few  references  may  be  given  to  indicate 
the  views  of  those  who  have  made  special 
studies  of  these  ceremonies.  G.  A.  Dorseyf 
speaking  of  the  Hopi  tribe  of  the  Southwest, 
states:  *'When  the  Hopi  are  not  at  work  they 
are  worshipping  in  the  Kivas.  The  under- 
lying element  of  this  worship  is  to  be  found  in 
the  environment.  Mother  nature  does  not 
deal  kindly  with  man  in  the  desert.  Look 
where  you  will,  across  the  drifting  sands  of  the 

*Miss  J.  Harrison:  Ancient  Art  and  Ritual, 
flndians  of  the  Southwest, 


102  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

plains,  and  the  cry  of  man  and  beast  is  '  Wa- 
ter!' And  so,  to  the  gods  of  the  rain  clouds 
does  the  Hopi  address  his  prayer.  His  instru- 
ments of  worship  are  so  fashioned  that  his 
magic  may  surpass  the  magic  of  these  gods, 
and  compel  them  to  loosen  their  stores,  full 
to  overflowing.  Take  any  one  of  the  great 
Hopi  ceremonies,  analyze  the  paraphernalia 
w^orn  by  the  men,  dissect  the  various  com- 
ponents of  the  altar  or  sand  paintings,  examine 
the  offerings  made  to  the  Spring  and  those 
placed  upon  the  shrines,  and  in  everything  and 
everywhere  we  see  prayers  for  rain." 

Dr.  Clark  Wissler,*  in  speaking  of  primitive 
ceremonies,  states:  "One  striking  feature  of 
primitive  ceremonies  is  the  elaboration  of  ritu- 
alistic procedure  relating  to  the  food  supply. 
Particularly  in  aboriginal  America  we  have 
many  curious  and  often  highly  complex  rituals 
associated  with  the  cultivation  of  maize  and 
tobacco.  These  often  impress  the  student  of 
social  phenomena  as  extremely  unusual  but 
still  highly  suggestive  facts,  chiefly  because 

*The  Functions  of  Primitive  Ritualistic  Ceremonies.  Popular 
Science  Monthly,  August  15,  191.3. 


of  Primitive  Races  103 

the  association  seems  to  be  between  things 
which  are  wholly  unrelated.  Thus,  among 
the  Pawnee  we  find  an  elaborate  ritual  in 
which  a  few  ears  of  maize  are  raised  almost 
to  the  status  of  gods.  At  a  certain  fixed  time 
of  the  autumn  the  official  priest  of  this  ritual 
proceeds  with  great  ceremony  to  the  fields  and 
selects  a  few  ears,  according  to  definite  stand- 
ards. These  are  further  consecrated  and  care- 
fully guarded  throughout  the  winter.  At 
planting  time  the  women  present  themselves 
ceremonially  to  receive  the  seed,  the  necessary 
planting  instructions,  etc.  Thus,  it  appears 
that  during  the  whole  year  recital,  there  is  a 
definite  ritual  in  functions  associated  with 
maize  culture." 

The  primitive  tribes  of  Australia  afford  an 
excellent  example  of  this  type  of  ceremony, 
and  fortunately  these  tribes  have  been  very 
carefully  studied.  At  the  puberty  initiations 
of  the  young  men,  one  of  the  main  ceremonies 
is  a  yam  ceremony,*  i.  e.,  a  procedure  to  en- 
sure   a   bountiful   supply    of    the    yams.     A 

*Spencer,  Native  Tribes  of  the  Northern  Territory  of  Australia. 


104         Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

special  type  of  yam  is  secured,  and  cooked 
with  much  ceremony  under  fixed  rules,  much 
care  and  secrecy  being  observed  throughout. 
After  the  cooking  ceremony  is  finished,  the 
yams  are  cut  up  and  divided  among  the  various 
members  of  the  tribe.  The  ceremony  is  sup- 
posed to  increase  the  supply  of  yams.  Miss 
J.  Harrison*  in  interpreting  Australian  cere- 
monies states:  "The  primitive  Australian 
takes  care  that  magic  shall  not  be  wanting,  a 
magic  of  the  most  instructive  kind.  As  soon 
as  the  season  of  fertility  approaches  he  begins 
his  rites  with  the  avowed  object  of  making  and 
multiplying  the  plants,  and  chiefly  the  animals, 
by  which  he  lives;  he  paints  the  figure  of  the 
emu  on  the  sand  with  vermillion  drawn  from 
his  own  blood;  he  puts  on  emu  feathers  and 
gazes  about  him  in  stupid  fashion,  like  an 
emu  bird ;  he  makes  a  structure  of  boughs  like 
the  chrysalis  of  a  Witchetty  grub — his  favorite 
food,  and  drags  his  body  through  it  in  pan- 
tomime, gliding  and  shuffling  to  promote  its 
birth.     Here,    difficult   and   intricate   though 

*Ancient  Art  and  Ritual,  p.  64. 


of  Primitive  Races  105 

the  ceremonies  are,  and  uncertain  in  meaning 
as  many  of  the  details  must  always  probably 
remain,  the  main  emotional  gist  is  clear.  It 
is  not  that  the  Austrahan  wonders  at  and 
admires  the  miracle  of  his  Spring,  the  bursting 
of  the  flowers  and  the  singing  of  the  birds;  it 
is  not  that  his  heart  goes  out  in  gratitude  to 
All-Father  who  is  the  Giver  of  all  good 
things;  it  is  that,  obedient  to  the  push  of  life 
within  him  his  impulse  is  towards  food.  He 
must  eat  that  he  and  his  tribe  may  grow  and 
multiply.  It  is  this,  his  will  to  hve,  that  he 
utters  and  represents.'' 

In  a  monograph*  of  the  Shinto  religion  of 
the  Japanese,  R.  Hitchcock  states  that  the 
leading  function  of  the  female  deity  is  to  in- 
crease the  food  supply.  She  is  given  the  name 
of  the  Goddess  of  Food,  or  the  Producer  of 
Trees  and  the  Parent  of  Grasses.  She  is 
spoken  of  as  Abundant-Food-Lady,  and  seems 
to  be  a  personification  of  the  earth. 

A  further  description  of  these  rites  is  un- 
necessary, as  wherever  found  they  are  all  of 

*Shinto,  or  the  Mythology  of  the  Japanese. 


106  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

the  same  general  type.  They  have  been 
described  in  North  America,  in  Central  Africa, 
in  Japan,  in  Siberia,  in  India  and  they  probably 
exist  in  many  other  localities.  The  above 
references  indicate  that  they  were  primitive 
man's  expression  of  his  desire  for  food,  this 
fundamental  motive  finding  expression  in  an 
elaborate  ritual. 

Now  since  in  the  above  rites,  where  the  in- 
crease of  the  food  supply  is  the  main  motive, 
the  entire  development  and  symbolism  centers 
about  articles  of  food,  and  since  in  the  phallic 
rites  an  entirely  analagous  development  and 
symbolism  centers  about  the  generative  organs, 
it  is  only  reasonable  to  infer  that  the  phallic 
rites  have  to  do  with  the  desire  for  children. 
In  this  we  have  the  meaning  of  sex  worship. 
It  is  primitive  man's  expression  of  his  desire 
for  the  perpetuation  of  the  race  and  so  it 
represents  a  biological  necessity,  the  earher 
motive  being  for  the  preservation  of  the 
individual. 

Fortunately  the  conclusions  which  the  above 
arguments  would  appear  to  warrant  are  borne 


of  Primitive  Races  107 

out  by  the  statements  of  those  who  have 
studied  these  matters  in  great  detail.  Miss 
J.  Harrison,*  who  also  quotes  Dr.  Frazer, 
states:  "The  two  great  interests  of  primitive 
man  are  food  and  children.  As  Dr.  Frazer 
has  well  said,  if  man  the  individual  is  to  live 
he  must  have  food ;  if  his  race  is  to  persist  he 
must  have  children,  'to  hve  and  to  cause  to 
live,  to  eat  food  and  to  beget  children,  these 
were  the  primary  wants  of  man  in  the  past, 
and  they  will  be  the  primary  wants  of  men  in 
the  future  so  long  as  the  w^orld  lasts.'  Other 
things  may  be  added  to  enrich  and  beautify 
human  life,  but,  un'ess  these  wants  are  first 
satisfied,  humanity  itself  must  cease  to  exist. 
These  tw^o  things,  therefore,  food  and  children, 
were  what  man  chiefly  sought  to  secure  by 
the  performance  of  magical  rites  for  the  regu- 
lation of  the  seasons.  They  are  the  very 
foundation  stones  of  that  ritual  from  which 
art,  if  we  are  right,  took  its  rise." 

There  is  a  very  striking  parallelism  between 
these  two  rites.     It  would  be  interesting  to 

*  Ancient  Art  and  Ritual. 


108  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

trace  out  these  analogies  step  by  step,  but 
we  shall  refer  to  them  only  in  a  general  way. 

The  outward  form  of  the  two  rites  is  very 
similar.  In  both  a  religious  ceremony  is  en- 
acted. In  the  development  of  this  ceremony 
a  system,  in  which  a  priesthood  forms  a  promi- 
nent part,  is  developed  in  both  instances. 
The  element  of  mystery  runs  through  both 
procedures  and,  as  Steven  D.  Peet*  has  stated, 
the  nature  worship  ceremony  of  the  North 
American  Indians  bears  a  remarkable  resem- 
blance to  the  mysteries  of  the  Eleusis  and  of 
the  Bacchanalia. 

In  both  the  nature  rites  and  the  phallic 
rites,  a  sacred  ceremonial  object  develops, 
and  about  this  object  a  very  elaborate  sym- 
bolism evolves.  Just  as  in  the  most  primitive 
form  of  sex  worship  we  saw  that  the  deity 
consisted  of  a  rude  representation  of  the 
generative  organs,  so  in  nature  worship  we 
find  that  the  ceremonial  object  is  at  first  a 
rude  representative  of  the  deified  animal  or 

*Secret  Societies  and  Ancient  Mysteries:  International  Congress 
of  Anthropology,  1893. 


of  Primitive  Races  109 

plant.  This  sacred  symbol  is  eventually  con- 
ventionalized. We  have  observed  this  in  sex 
worship,  as  explained  by  Inman,  Payne  Knight 
and  others.  In  the  same  way  in  nature  wor- 
ship, ceremonial  objects  are  conventionalized. 
Spencer  has  shown  this  in  the  case  of  the 
Austrahans,  the  ceremonial  objects  eventually 
coming  to  bear  a  remote  resemblance  on'y  to 
the  original  animal  or  plant  representation. 
A.  L.  Kroeber*  has  observed  the  same  develop- 
ment in  the  Arapaho  Indians.  The  buffalo 
symbol  for  example,  (a  very  important  one 
in  this  tribe  since  the  buffalo  is  the  chief  food) 
has  become  highly  conventionalized,  and  is 
finally  represented  by  a  formal  rectangular 
design.  This  design  now  means  the  earth, 
and  it  is  also  used  as  a  life  symbol. 

Again,  just  as  we  saw  how  in  sex  worship 
the  religious  symbol  came  to  be  expressed 
throughout  decorative  art,  and  in  fact  eventu- 
ally became  a  leading  motive,  so  it  has  been 
shown   that    in   the   nature    worship    of    the 

*SjTnbolisin  of  the  Arapaho  Indians:  American  Museum  of  Natural 
History. 


1 10  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

Indians  this  same  evolution  takes  place.  A. 
L.  Kroeber  and  Clark  Wissler,  among  others, 
have  shown  that  the  decorative  art  on  the 
moccasins,  leggings,  tents,  food  bags,  etc.,  of 
the  Indians,  all  representing  a  highly  con- 
ventionalized symbol,  expresses  religious  mo- 
tives throughout.  This  symbolism  can  be 
interpreted  only  by  an  understanding  of 
religious  motives.  The  analogy  of  this  sym- 
bolic development  to  that  associated  with  sex 
worship  is  at  once  apparent. 

Finally,  just  as  in  sex  worship  the  motive 
came  to  dominate  most  of  the  practices  and 
usages  of  civil  hfe,  so  it  can  be  shown  that  in 
tribes  practicing  nature  worship,  the  rehgious 
motive  has  a  very  powerful  influence.  The 
performance  of  rites  to  increase  the  food  supply 
are  among  the  most  important  of  primitive 
man's  duties.  Any  man  who  enters  into  these 
rites  listlessly  is  not  respected,  and  the  leaders 
of  the  rite  are  the  head  men  of  the  tribe.  In 
Austraha,  one  of  the  main  functions  of  each 
Totem  group  is  to  increase  the  supply  of  its 


of  Primitive  Races  111 

own  Totem  animal  or  plant  by  magic  cere- 
mony. 

In  summing  up,  therefore,  the  analogies  be- 
tween sex  worship  and  nature  worship,  the 
following  features  may  be  reviewed:  the  out- 
ward form  is  the  same,  i.  e,,  that  of  a  rehgious 
ceremonial  rite  in  which  a  sacred  object  is  the 
representation  of  the  deity.     The  symbolism 
associated  with  this  object  develops  in  the 
same  way  in  both  instances.     In  the  course 
of  time  this  symbohsm  becomes  conventional- 
ized,   and   eventually   it   finds   its   way   into 
primitive  art.     It  then   becomes  the  leading 
motive  in  primitive  art  and  finally  the  rehgious 
motive  is  forgotten  and  the  aesthetic  motive 
alone  remains.     Were  further  proof  necessary, 
these  analogies  alone  would  be  sufficient  to 
enable  us  to  understand  the  meaning  of  sex 

worship. 

The  ritual  associated  with  the  worship  of 
sex  then,  arose  in  response  to  emotions  which 
are  grouped  around  the  instinct  of  reproduc- 
tion. These  feehngs  are  so  primitive  and  at 
the  same  time  so  fundamental,  that  it  is  diffi- 


112  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

cult  for  us  to  realize  that  early  man  should 
dignify  them  by  religious  ritual.  They  stand 
out  as  expressions  of  a  biological  demand. 
As  stated  above,  sex  worship  was  not  a  con- 
scious expression  on  the  part  of  certain 
individuals,  but  it  was  the  unconscious  ex- 
pression of  longings  and  desires  on  the  part 
of  the  race.  It  represents  a  phase  in  man's 
mental  evolution,  a  process  of  mental  develop- 
ment. Its  dynamic  value,  from  a  biological 
standpoint,  is  at  once  apparent.  In  order  to 
survive  man  must  reproduce  his  kind,  and  the 
emotions  associated  with  reproductive  in- 
stincts must  be  of   adequate  dynamic   value. 

It  has  been  stated  that  sex  worship,  as 
practiced  during  the  primitive  state  of  civiliza- 
tion, was  a  healthy  phase  in  racial  evolution. 
In  a  higher  degree  of  civilization,  however,  the 
reversion  to  this  motive  was  a  regression,  and 
decadent  sex  worship  as  it  existed  during  the 
middle  ages  was  an  attempt  by  certain  un- 
healthy elements  in  the  race  to  revert  to  the 
primitive.     In  decadent  sex  worship  we  are 


of  Primitive  Races  113 

dealing  with  an  instance  of  faulty  mental 
adaptation  in  a  way  in  which  we  had  not  been 
accustomed  to  consider  it.  It  is  a  case  of 
faulty  adaptation  in  the  race,  or  at  least  in 
certain  elements  of  it,  rather  than  in  the  in- 
dividual. These  general  analogies  are  note- 
worthy from  the  standpoints  of  mental  evolu- 
tion and  abnormal  psychology. 

In  order  to  show  how  sex  worship  as  prac- 
ticed by  a  later  civilization  was  the  expression 
of  an  unhealthy  tendency,  we  must  digress 
sufficiently  to  show  the  setting  in  which  de- 
cadent sex  worship  existed.  It  is  necessary 
to  give  a  chronological  outline  indicating  how 
primitive  beliefs  succeeded  each  other  as  a 
result  of  man's  progressive  development. 

The  earlier  beliefs  were  an  expression  of 
nature  worship.  This  as  we  have  shown, 
was  mostly  associated  with  the  question  of 
food  supply.  It  has  been  shown  that  during 
this  period  of  primitive  man's  existence  group 
thinking  predominated,  and  man  thought  of 
himself  as  part  of  the  group  rather  than  as  an 
individual.     At  this  time,  therefore,  the  idea 


114  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

of  the  deity  which  was  evolved  was  not  that 
of  an  individual  god.  Generally  speaking,  it 
was  the  "vegetation  spirit"  existing  through- 
out nature  which  was  deified.  This  was  the 
general  period  of  earth  worship, — the  forces 
of  nature  associated  with  the  earth  being  man's 
main  interest.  The  earth  at  this  time  was 
highest  in  primitive  man's  regard. 

During  the  time  of  earth  worship,  the  social 
organization  of  the  tribe  was  such  that  the 
mother  was  the  dominating  influence  in  social 
structure.  Descent  was  matrilinear,  and  a 
society  known  as  matriarchy  existed,  as  con- 
trasted to  the  later  patriarchy.  The  mother 
was  the  leading  figure  in  social  as  well  as  in 
family  life.  At  this  period  a  certain  degree 
of  sexual  promiscuity  existed;  the  mother  of 
the  child  was  known  but  the  father  was  not 
and  so  the  descent  was  in  the  female  line. 
With  earth  worship,  then,  there  was  mother 
w^orship,  and  the  term  "Mother  Earth"  had 
a  very  real  significance. 

With  the  social  state  of  matriarchy,  the 
mother  cults  developed.     These  mother  cults 


of  Primitive  Races  115 

evolved  the  numerous  female  deities  of  antiq- 
uity, Themis,  Demeter,  Cybele,  and  many 
others  being  the  expression  of  mother  worship. 
These  deities  were  generally  associated  with 
the  wild  elements  of  nature, — with  the  wind, 
and  the  hills  and  the  forests. 

Associated  with  the  mother  religion  in  a  way 
which  at  first  does  not  appear  to  be  very  clear 
arose  the  phallic  cults.  It  should  be  here 
stated  that  the  mother  religion  was  not  the 
religion  of  the  mother  alone,  but  also  that  of 
the  mother  and  child.  The  child  was  the 
adolescent, — a  youth  about  to  be  initiated  at 
the  public  ceremony,  at  which  he  was  often 
circumcised  and  after  which  he  was  able  to 
take  up  the  reproductive  functions  of  the  male. 
Miss  J.  Harrison  has  shown  that  Dionysus 
was  the  embodiment  of  this  conception.  Here 
the  youth  was  necessary  only  to  the  extent 
that  he  could  become  a  father.  It  was  his 
generative  attribute  which  was  sanctified, 
rather  than  that  he  was  a  male  being  existing 
as  an  individual.  For  this  reason,  the  deifica- 
tion of  the  phallic  principle,  i,  e.,  the  genera- 


116  Sex  Worshij)  and  Symbolism 

live  attribute,  preceded  the  deification  of  the 
male  as  an  individual.  At  least  this  is  the 
impression  one  gains  of  this  development. 
In  any  case,  we  note  that  the  phallic  ceremo- 
nies were  associated  with  the  mother  religion. 
The  period  in  which  both  existed  was  mostly 
prehistoric. 

We  see  the  beginning  of  the  evolution  of  the 
male  god  in  the  phallic  cults.  This  was 
eventually  followed  by  the  patriarchal  system 
and  here  we  are  on  more  familiar  ground. 
Patriarchy  succeeded  matriarchy,  but  whether 
as  a  gradual  evolution  or  otherwise  is  not 
clear.  Some  writers  speak  of  bitter  conflicts 
in  Persia,  India,  Greece  and  elsewhere.  In 
any  case  the  religion  of  the  father  replaced 
that  of  the  mother;  the  social  system  changed 
and  the  father  took  his  place  at  the  head  of 
the  family.  During  this  period  we  are  told* 
that  man  shifted  his  belief  from  the  earth  to 
the  sky,  the  sun  was  found  to  be  the  source  of 
energy  and  worship  was  transferred  to  the 
Heavens.     Just  as  formerly  the  female  deity 

*Miss  J.  Harrison,  Themis,  Introduction. 


of  Primitive  Races  117 

was  identified  with  the  earth,  so  the  male 
deity  was  identified  with  the  sun,  Zeus  and 
Apollo  being  two  examples  of  the  latter  type 
from  a  great  many. 

We  are  now  approaching  a  well  known  his- 
toric period.  The  religion  of  the  father  and 
the  son  had  replaced  that  of  the  mother  and 
child.  The  age  of  hero  worship  had  com- 
menced and  this  hero  was  often  identified 
with  the  sun.  For  this  reason,  the  fact  that 
a  myth  is  in  the  form  of  a  sun  myth  does  not 
argue  against  its  being  the  expression  of  a 
very  deep  religious  motive.  As  has  been 
stated,  earlier  motives  are  carried  forward, 
and  so  while  sun  worship  is  a  somewhat  later 
development  than  the  phallic  beliefs,  it  is 
quite  natural  that  many  phallic  ideas  should 
find  expression  at  this  subsequent  period. 

We  have  now  reached  a  time  when  sex  wor- 
ship became  decadent,  for  Christianity  fol- 
lowed sun  worship  and  hero  worship ;  and  this 
brings  us  to  the  present  day.  The  religion  of 
father  and  son  remains,  and  much  of  the  form 


118  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

of  the  earlier  worship  has  been  retained  in  the 
modern. 

The  above  outline  of  the  changes  and  evolu- 
tion of  early  religions  is  most  schematic.  It 
enables  us,  however,  to  see  that  sex  worship 
was  entirely  out  of  place  during  the  middle 
ages,  in  a  civilization  which  had  long  before 
discarded  matriarchy.  The  questions  of  the 
food  supply,  and  of  children,  were  no  longer 
so  immediately  pressing,  and  the  faith  in 
magical  performances  had  been  shaken.  Man 
had  emerged  from  the  group  as  a  definite 
personality,  and  the  development  of  a  new 
religion  which  expressed  other  feelings  and 
desires  had  taken  place.  WTiat  we  wish  to 
emphasize  at  present  is,  then,  that  sex  wor- 
ship as  it  was  carried  on  during  the  middle 
ages  was  a  distinctly  unnatural  tendency  in 
the  race. 

At  this  time  opportunity  may  be  taken  to 
reconcile  different  interpretations  which  some 
writers  have  given  regarding  early  religious 
motives.  Considerable  variation  and  some 
contradiction  may  be  observed  in  the  \ATitings 


of  Primitive  Races  119 

of  different  authors  in  describing  a  religious 
development  of  much  the  same  period.  One 
writer  may  describe  the  features  of  nature 
worship  and  quite  ignore  the  presence  of  sex 
worship.  Others  may  describe  only  phallic 
rites.  These  discrepancies  may  be  understood 
when  the  order  in  which  the  various  beliefs 
developed  is  recognized.  Nature  worship  de- 
veloped first,  but  much  of  its  symbolism  was 
carried  into  the  phallic  ceremonies.  Thus  we 
see  the  phallus  associated  with  the  pine  cone 
and  other  elements  of  vegetative  life.  Some 
of  these  elements,  the  pine  cone  for  example, 
finally  came  to  have  a  phallic  significance,  but 
at  an  earlier  period  they  probably  represented 
the  vegetation  spirit.  In  fact,  reproductive 
attributes  of  both  nature  and  man  were  often 
worshipped  at  the  same  ceremony. 

While  we  should  not  as  a  rule  expect  to  find 
phaUic  rites  associated  with  the  earlier  forms 
of  nature  worship,  since  sex  worship  developed 
at  a  somewhat  later  period,  still  in  this  con- 
nection we  cannot  be  too  dogmatic;  the  primi- 
tive Australians  appear  to  be  at  the  stage  of 


120  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

mental  development  when  simple  nature  wor- 
ship predominated,  yet,  from  Mutter  Erde^  we 
learn  that  with  the  Austrahans  a  ceremony 
consisting  of  the  throwing  of  a  spear  into  the 
earth  was  of  phallic  significance.  This  co- 
existence of  these  two  related  motives  is  not 
unnatural  since  they  both  equally  represent 
fundamental  biological  demands  on  the  part 
of  the  race. 

We  may  now  return  to  the  interpretation 
of  decadent  sex  worship.  When  we  under- 
stand the  setting  in  which  sex  w^orship  was 
practiced  in  the  middle  ages  we  are  better 
able  to  appreciate  its  significance.  As  stated 
above,  it  was  the  attempt  by  certain  elements 
of  the  race  to  return  to  more  primitive  mo- 
tives, and  to  derive  satisfaction  from  beliefs 
which  had  long  been  outgrown  by  advancing 
civilization.  This  clinging  to  an  early  type 
of  reaction,  or  the  return  to  more  primitive 
feelings,  must  be  regarded  as  an  unhealthy 
tendency.  Moreover,  at  this  time,  the  motive 
itself  was  no  longer  expressed  in  the  natural 

*A.  Dieterich:  Mutter  Erde. 


oj  Primitive  Races  1^1 

and  healthy  way  of  primitive  times.  Sex 
worship  during  the  middle  ages  became  de- 
praved; excesses  and  perversions  appeared 
and  the  entire  development,  as  it  existed  at 
that  time,  was  biologically  undesirable. 

It  also  appeared  that  at  certain  times  in 
the  mental  evolution  of  the  race  a  degree  of 
development  is  reached  from  which  no  further 
progress  is  made.  At  least,  we  are  aware  of 
such  an  instance  in  the  case  of  a  very  primi- 
tive community  in  Southern  Italy.  A  writer, 
Norman  Douglas,*  in  1914  found  the  exist- 
ence of  a  phaUic  cult  in  Calabria.  The  women 
sanctified  a  crack  of  one  of  the  walls  of  the 
temple,  their  attitude  toward  it  corresponding 
to  the  yoni  worship  of  India.  Near  by  was 
an  ancient  stone  pillar  held  in  great  venera- 
tion, which  was  the  representative  of  the 
phallus. 

It  is  observed  that  in  this  small  community 
some  remnants  of  phallic  behef  of  a  very 
primitive  type  have  been  retained  for  centur- 
ies.    The  rehgious  development,  an  index  of 

*Norman  Douglas:  Old  Calabria. 


122  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

mental  development,  has  become  "set"  as  it 
were  and  no  further  progress  is  possible.  It 
is  not  entirely  for  want  of  opportunity  that 
this  locality  has  not  taken  up  higher  religious 
beliefs.  The  Catholic  Church  has  introduced 
its  teachings,  but  the  people  have  represented 
the  images  of  the  Saints,  of  the  Virgin  Mary, 
and  of  Christ  somewhat  after  the  fasliion  of 
toy  dolls.  These  are  used  as  fetishes  to  ward 
off  disease  and  no  higher  conceptions  are 
grasped.  Ideas  regarding  after  life  and  im- 
mortality are  disregarded  in  favor  of  the  im- 
mediate need  of  protection  against  supposed 
evil  influences.  With  these  people,  therefore, 
motives  are  utilized  which  satisfy  only  the 
most  fundamental  and  immediate  desires. 

We  have  now  followed  a  definite  motive  in 
mental  development  through  its  rise,  its  elab- 
oration and  its  decadence.  W^e  therefore 
have  its  life  history  in  the  race  before  us;  we 
have  been  enabled  by  analogies  of  other 
motives  and  by  utilizing  the  conclusions  of 
various  writers,  to  understand  its  meaning  and 


of  Primitive  Races  123 

to  give  its  interpretation.  It  remains  to  be 
seen  what  general  conclusions  regarding  either 
racial  or  individual  development  in  this  sphere 
may  be  drawn. 

It  appears  that  when  an  important  motive 
of  this  sort  develops  in  the  race,  it  embodies 
the  expression  of  fundamental  desires.  Since 
it  carries  with  it  a  strong  and  ever  present 
desire  in  this  way,  it  is  strikingly  dynamic 
in  nature.  It  dominates  all  social  organiza- 
tion, and  with  primitive  people  it  dominates 
much  of  the  conduct  of  the  individual.  When 
such  a  motive  is  seriously  entertained  it  is 
pragmatic,  i.  e.,  it  serves  a  useful  end,  or  at 
least  the  conceptions  which  it  embodies  are 
entertained  because  they  are  thought  to  be 
of  the  highest  value  to  the  race. 

As  mental  development  continues,  these 
more  fundamental  and  primitive  motives 
cease  to  be  all  absorbing.  Eventually,  the 
subject  of  the  food  supply  becomes  less  press- 
ing. Races  continue  to  increase  and  multiply 
with  or  without  the  performance  of  sacred 
rites  and  man  begins  to  question  the  utility  of 


124  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

his  imitative  magic.  Higher  desires  force 
themselves  into  consciousness,  and  earher 
motives  are  no  longer  outwardly  expressed; 
the  form  of  the  early  motives  is  retained  how- 
ever: usages,  symbols  and  practices  which 
have  long  ceased  to  be  dynamic  and  whose 
meaning  is  entirely  forgotten  are  still  observed; 
so  we  see  evidences  of  primitive  racial  motives 
cropping  up  in  all  sorts  of  ways  in  later  civiliza- 
tion. 

But  to  say  that  the  earlier  motives  are  no 
longer  outwardly  expressed  is  not  to  infer  that 
they  do  not  exist.  Fundamental  as  they  are 
in  our  mental  development,  they  enter  into 
our  general  personality  and  become  a  part  of 
our  makeup.  How  is  the  motive  expressed 
in  sex  worship  a  part  of  our  motives  and 
feelings  of  today?  Superficially  it  does  not 
appear  to  be  present,  but  a  little  reflexion 
shows  that  it  is  there.  It  has  become  so  much 
a  part  of  us  that  we  scarcely  recognize  its 
presence,  the  instinct  to  reproduce  being  com- 
mon to  everyone.     Every  woman  feels  this 


of  Primitive  Races  125 

to  be  her  duty, — her  rehgious  duty  if  the  dic- 
tum of  the  Church  is  to  be  followed : 

"Lo,  children  are  an  heritage  of  the  Lord; 
and  the  fruit  of  the  womb  is  his  reward.  As 
arrows  are  in  the  hand  of  a  mighty  man;  so 
are  children  of  the  youth.  Happy  is  the  man 
that  has  his  quiver  full  of  them;  they  shall 
not  be  ashamed,  but  they  shall  speak  with 
the  enemies  in  the  gate."     Psalm  127, 

During  earlier  times  barrenness  was 
regarded  as  a  curse,  and  many  charms 
were  in  use  to  counteract  this  calamity. 
A  sentence  from  a  letter  of  Juha  Ward 
How^e  to  her  young  sister  about  to  be  married, 
affords  an  apt  reference  to  this  sense  of  duty: 
"Marriage,  like  death,  is  a  debt  we  owe  to 
nature,  and  though  it  costs  us  something  to 
pay  it,  yet  we  are  more  content  and  better 
established  in  peace  when  we  have  paid  it." 
The  feeling  associated  with  the  command 
"to  increase  and  multiply"  is  so  much  a  part 
of  our  innermost  thoughts  and  feelings  that 
further  references  to  it  are  unnecessary. 


126  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

To  what  extent  may  we  utilize  the  evolu- 
tion of  this  motive  in  the  race,  in  understand- 
ing certain  phases  of  mental  development 
associated  with  reproductive  instincts  in  the 
individual?  In  interpreting  the  racial  history 
of  this  motive  we  have  seen  that  it  is  dynamic ; 
it  develops  in  response  to  biological  demands. 
It  is  a  very  elementary  and  primitive  desire 
to  be  raised  to  the  dignity  of  a  religion,  but 
none  the  less  it  is  a  very  essential  one.  We 
have  seen  that  when  this  motive  is  replaced 
by  higher  ones,  a  return  to  it  bespoke  faulty 
mental  adaptations  on  the  part  of  those  w^ho 
did  so.  Analogies  between  the  individual  and 
the  race  in  this  sphere  exist  in  a  general  way, 
and  their  presence  is  significant. 

Analogies  in  the  sphere  in  the  normal  mental 
development  of  the  individual  may  be  con- 
sidered first.  In  dealing  with  the  developing 
thoughts  of  childhood,  we  shall  refer  to  one 
particular  tendency,  i.  e.,  that  of  day  dreaming. 
We  know  that  a  certain  amount  of  the  day 
dreaming  of  the  child  has  to  do  :with  the  feel- 
ings and  emotions  associated  with  the  questions 


oj  Primitive  Races  127 

of   reproduction,  considered    in   its   broadest 
sense;   i.  e.,   including  fictitious  lovers,  mar- 
riages, children,  etc.     Now  probably  with  the 
child,  the  day  dreaming  associated  with  these 
feelings  is  of  biological  significance,  just  as  the 
rituals  associated  with  similar  feelings  are  of 
value  to  the  race.     The  little  girl  who  is  the 
mother  of  her  doll,  who  plays  at  housekeeping, 
who  fictitiously   assumes  the  responsibilities 
of  married  life  and  what  not, — ^the  child  by 
developing  this   feature   of  her  existence   in 
fancy  is  probably  preparing  herself  for  reality. 
The  little  boy  who  becomes  a  hero  in  his  own 
fancy,  marries  a  princess,  and  who  overcomes 
all  sorts  of  diSiculties;  or  the  small  boy  who 
in  his  play  enters  into  all  the  activities  of  adult 
life, — probably  this  child,  by  entertaining  the 
thoughts  of  his  future  life,  prepares  himself  to 
some  extent  for  future  life.     These  fundamen- 
tal motives,  therefore,  which  arise  in  response 
to  biological  demands,  are  the  expression  of 
desires,  both  in  the  case  of  the  individual  and 
of  the  race,  and  they  act  not  only  harmlessly 


128  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

but  probably  beneficially  at  a  certain  stage 
of  mental  evolution. 

Again,  we  have  shown  how  in  the  race 
remnants  of  early  and  primitive  motives  con- 
tinue to  appear  in  various  ways  long  after 
their  outward  dynamic  value  has  been  lost 
and  when  their  meaning  is  no  longer  under- 
stood. Is  this  not  true  of  the  individual? 
Do  we  not  all  recognize  in  the  moods  and 
mental  attitudes  and  even  in  some  of  the 
actions  of  the  adult,  remnants  of  feelings  and 
forces  which  were  dynamic  in  childhood.^ 
These  feelings  exist  although  they  are  not 
consciously  appreciated.  The  actual  experi- 
ences are  forgotten  but  the  moods  and 
emotions  remain.  This  is  analagous  to  the 
influence  which  primitive  racial  thoughts, 
beliefs  and  usages  have  on  present  day  civ- 
ilization. The  meaning  of  these  usages  and 
symbols  is  forgotten  in  many  cases  but  the 
outward  form  still  exists. 

In  the  individual,  a  motive  of  this  kind  does 
not  become  a  religion  or  a  ritual  as  in  the  case 
with  the  race,  but  it  nevertheless  is  forcefully 


of  Primitive  Races  129 

expressed  in  that  it  excites  an  absorbing  inter- 
est and  forces  itself  strongly  into  consciousness  > 
during  the  phase  of  its  dynamic  develop- 
ment. As  stated  above,  just  as  in  the  early 
mental  evolution  of  the  race,  we  find  that  the 
question  of  reproduction  comes  prominently 
to  the  fore,  so  with  the  individual  we  find  that 
at  the  adolescent  period  of  life  the  sexual  in- 
stinct is  very  fully  elaborated.  Just  as  with 
the  race  reproduction  is  necessary  for  the  con- 
tinuation of  the  race,  so  with  the  individual, 
elaboration  of  sexual  instinct  is  necessary  in 
order  that  adult  sexual  responsibilities  may  be 
assumed.  This  consists  of  much  more  than 
mere  physical  development.  In  a  complex 
state  of  civilization  many  adjustments  in  the 
sphere  of  sexual  indulgence  and  continence  and 
marriage  have  to  be  made.  This  phase  of  the 
individual's  life  is  a  very  important  one.  It 
is  the  rule  for  proper  reactions  to  occur  at  this 
time,  in  which  case  the  reproductive  instincts 
assume  their  proper  place  in  mental  life.  But 
if  satisfactory  adjustments  do  not  occur  the 
consequences  may  be  serious.     In  the  healthy 


130  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

mental  evolution  of  the  individual,  therefore, 
just  as  in  the  normal  mental  evolution  of  the 
race,  we  see  that  motives  arise,  assume  a 
dynamic  character,  play  their  part  in  the 
developing  mind,  and  leave  lasting  impres- 
sions. They  serve  a  useful  purpose  during 
one  phase  of  mental  evolution.  We  have 
seen  that  they  may  be  harmful  in  the  race  if 
utilized  at  a  later  period.  Let  us  see  to  what 
extent  this  is  true  of  the  individual. 

Psychiatrists  during  recent  years  have  come 
to  believe  that  in  certain  mental  states  w^e  see 
a  reversion  to  a  more  primitive  type  of  re- 
action,— a  tendency  to  utilize  earlier  adapta- 
tions, the  reactions  of  infancy  and  childhood 
in  meeting  situations  which  arise  in  adult  life. 
If  this  assumption  is  correct  it  is  seen  that  a 
reversion  to  something  more  primitive  is  an 
undesirable  reaction  in  the  individual  as  well 
as  in  the  race.  Here  too  we  find  that  the 
emotions  and  feelings  associated  with  the 
reproductive  instinct  may  be  inadequately 
developed.     It  has  been  shown  above  that  the 


of  Primitive  Races  131 

day  dreams  of  the  child  are  probably  beneficial 
rather  than  harmful.  Is  this  day  dreaming 
beneficial  to  the  adult?  We  know  from  our 
experience  that  it  is  not,  and  in  its  relation  to 
the  reproductive  sphere  this  is  particularly 
true.  The  adult  who  substitutes  the  realities 
of  life  by  elaborate  day  dreams  is  approaching 
dangerous  ground.  The  young  woman  who 
in  adult  life  is  constantly  dreaming  of  an  ideal 
but  fictitious  lover  is  deriving  satisfaction  from 
unhealthy  sources;  and  the  young  man  who 
ecstatically  becomes  a  hero  or  a  racial  bene- 
factor is  equally  at  fault.  In  instances  where 
such  thoughts  are  believed  in  and  acted  upon 
as  we  observe  again  and  again  in  mental  dis- 
orders, a  serious  condition  of  the  mind  has 
arisen.  When  an  attempt  is  made  to  gain 
satisfaction  in  these  immature  ways  at  a 
later  stage  of  development,  or  when  there  is  a 
failure  to  develop  at  a  certain  point,  the  re- 
action is  harmful  in  both  the  individual  and 
in  the  race. 

It  is  during  the  adolescent  period  that  these 
failures   of   adaptation   generally   occur.     At 


132  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

this  time,  the  whole  development  in  the  re- 
productive sphere,  particularly  in  the  mental 
characteristics  associated  with  the  sexual  in- 
stinct, considered  in  its  broadest  sense,  does 
not  take  place.     There  may  be  much  rumina- 
tion about  this  topic,  but  the  responsibilities 
of  adult  sexual  life,  of  marriage,  of  child  bear- 
ing with  the  female,  are  not  adequately  met. 
Fancies  are  substituted  for  reality,  and  while, 
as  stated  above,  young  women  may  dream  of 
ideal  lovers,  they  at  the  same  time  are  shy 
and  unnatural  in  their  attitude  toward  the 
opposite  sex.     Young  men,  instead  of  taking 
their  place  in  the  life  of  the  adult  community, 
realize  adult  ambitions  only  by  elaborate  day 
dreams.     In  abnormal  mental  states,  we  see 
young  men  in  their  fancies  become  important 
personages,  religious  benefactors  and  national 
heroes.     They  may  shun  all  association  with 
women  but  at  the  same  time  maintain  that 
they  have  a  cultural  mission  to  populate  the 
earth.     We  see  here  how  the  feelings  associ- 
ated with  reproductive  instincts  have  been 
faulty  or  inadequate.     This  return  to  some- 


oj  Primitive  Races  133 

thing  more  primitive  is  an  unhealthy  atavistic 
tendency  and  makes  for  both  racial  and  in- 
dividual inferiority. 

A  word  may  be  said  regarding  symbolism 
of  the  race  as  applied  to  the  individual.  We 
have  stated  that  symbolism  is  a  primitive  and 
rudimentary  way  of  expressing  thought.  It 
would  seem  logical  therefore  that  if  in  some 
abnormal  mental  states  there  is  a  return  to 
more  primitive  reactions,  w^e  may  find  a  ten- 
dency to  symbolize.  This  tendency  is  fre- 
quently observed  and  the  symbolism  is  often 
very  elaborate.  A  knowledge  of  the  inter- 
pretation of  racial  symbolism  is  doubtless  of 
value  in  the  case  of  the  individual.  When 
men's  thoughts  deal  with  the  same  subject 
and  when  they  tend  to  symbolize,  they  are 
likely  to  express  themselves  in  much  the  same 
way  symbolically.  If  in  abnormal  mental 
states  thoughts  are  entertained  which  have 
to  do  with  the  motives  we  have  been  discussing, 
it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  racial  and 
individual  symbolism  will  show  certain  analo- 
gies. 


134  Sex  Woi'ship  and  Symbolism 

Again,  in  the  pages  of  recent  psychiatry,  we 
learn  that  in  abnormal  mental  states  there  is 
a  reversion  not  only  to  the  primitive  motives 
of  childhood,  but  also  to  the  primitive  motives 
of  the  race.  Just  to  what  extent  this  tendency 
exists  remains  for  studies  of  the  future  to  show. 
Certainly,  striking  instances  may  be  cited ;  for 
example,  let  us  quote  from  a  recent  study  in 
psychiatry:*  **One  such  patient  with  a  very 
complicated  delusional  system  states  that 
he  is  the  father  of  Adam,  that  he  has  lived 
in  his  present  human  body  thirty -five  years, 
but  in  other  bodies  thirty  million  years,  and 
that  during  this  time  he  has  occupied  six 
million  different  bodies.  He  has  been  the 
great  men  in  the  history  in  the  development 
of  the  human  race;  he  himself  created  the 
human  race.  It  took  him  three  hundred 
million  years  to  perfect  the  first  fully  developed 
human  being;  he  is  both  male  and  female  and 
identifies  all  the  difterent  parts  of  the  Uni- 
verse with  his  own  body;  heaven,  hell  and 
purgatory  are  located  in  his  limbs,  the  stars 

*Jelliffe  and  White,  Diseases  of  the  Nervous  System,  page  689. 


of  Primitive  Races  135 

are  pieces  of  his  body  which  had  been  torn 
apart  by  torture  and  persecution  in  various 
ages  of  past  history;  he  is  the  father  and 
creator  of  the  various  races  and  elements  of 
the  human  organization,  etc."  Any  one  who 
has  done  even  a  cursory  reading  in  mythology 
cannot  but  be  struck  by  the  similarity  in  form 
as  well  as  in  thought  between  this  production 
and  what  we  find  in  myths. 

The  general  analogies  which  we  have  indi- 
cated are  such  as  one  would  have  reason  to 
expect.  The  history  of  both  the  healthy  and 
unhealthy  mental  evolution  o^  the  race  is  in 
many  respects  the  history  of  the  individual; 
in  order  to  understand  these  analogies  it  is 
necessary  to  understand  the  mental  develop- 
ment of  primitive  man.  Recent  studies  have 
given  us  much  valuable  information  in  this 
direction.  In  primitive  usages  we  find  the 
expression  of  early  man's  deepest  longings 
and  desires,  and  so  a  dynamic  interpretation 
of  such  motives  is  possible.  It  remains  for 
the  psychiatrist  to  learn  to  what  extent  the 


136  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

findings  of  special  investigators  of  primitive 
races  may  be  utilized  in  explaining  mental 
evolution,  and  also  the  development  of  ab- 
normal mental  states.  This  study  is  a  com- 
paratively recent  one  but  it  already  gives  in- 
dications of  offering  ample  rewards. 


REFERENCES  AND  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Brand,    John:     Observations    on    Popular 
Antiquities. 

Bryant:  System  of  Mythology. 

Cox,  Rev.  G.  W.:  The  Mythology  of  the 
Aryan  Nations. 

DeGubertnatis,  Angelo:  Zoological  Mythol- 
ogy. 

Deiterich,  A. :  Mutter  Erde. 

Dixon,  Roland  B.:  The  Northern  Maidu. 

Dorsey,  George  A. :  Traditions  of  the  Caddo, 
(Carnegie  Institute.)  Indians  of  the  bouth 
West. 

Frazer,  J.  G.:  Adonis,  Attis  and  Osiris; 
Balder,  the  Beautiful;  Psyche's  Task. 

Goodrich,  V.  K.:  Ainu  Family  Life  and 
Rehgion,  Popular  Science  Monthly,  Novem- 
ber, 1888. 

Grosse:  The  Beginnings  of  Art. 
Harrison,  Miss  Jane:  Ancient  Art  and  Rit- 
ual; Themis. 

137 


l38  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

Hearn,  Lafcadio:  Japan;  an  Attempt  at 
Interpretation. 

Herodotus:  (Rawlinson's  Trans.) 

Higgins,  Godfrey:  The  Anacalypsis;  Celtic 
Druids. 

Hitchcock,  Romyn:  Shinto  or  the  Mythol- 
ogy of    the  Japanese,  (Smithsonian Institute.) 

Howitt,  A.  W.:  The  Native  Tribes  of  South 
East  Australia. 

Jennings,  Hargrave:  The  Rosicrucians ;  The 
Indian  Religions. 

Jevons,  F.  B.:  The  Idea  of  God  in  Early 
Religions. 

Judson:  Myths  and  Legends  of  the  Missis- 
sippi Valley  and  the  Great  Lakes. 

Karpas,  Morris  J.:  Socrates  in  the  light 
of  Modern  Psychopathology.  (Journal  of 
Abnormal  Psychology.    1915.) 

King,  C.  W.:  The  Gnostics  and  their  Re- 
mains; Hand-book  of  Engraved  Gems. 

Knight,  R.  P. :  The  Symbolical  Language  of 
Ancient  Art  and  Mythology;  Two  Essays  on 
the  Worship  of  Priapus. 

Kroeber,    Alfred    L.:    Symbolism    of    the 


of  Primitive  Races  139 

Arapaho  Indians.  The  Arapaho,  (Bulletin  of 
the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History.) 

Langdon,  S. :  Tammuz  and  Ishtar. 

Layard,  A.:  Babylon  and  Nineveh;  Nineveh 
and  its  Remains. 

Leuba,  James  H. :  A  Psychological  Study  of 
Religion. 

Monsen,  Frederick:  Festivals  of  the  Hopi. 
(The  Craftsman,  June,  1907.) 

Murray,  Gilbert:  Hamlet  and  Orestes:  The 
Rise  of  the  Greek  Epic. 

Newton,  John:  Assyrian  Grove  Worship. 

O'Brien,  Henry:  The  Round  Towers  of 
Ireland. 

Peet,  Stephen  D.:  Secret  Societies  and 
Sacred  Mysteries. 

Perrot,  and  Chipiez:  History  of  Art  in 
Phrygia,  Lidia,  Caria  and  Lycia;  History  of 
Art  in  Persia. 

Prescott:  Conquest  of  Peru. 

Pratt,  J.  B.:  India  and  Its  Faiths. 

Rawlinson,  G.:  History  of  Ancient  Egypt; 
Ancient  Monarchies. 

Reclus,  Elie:  Primitive  Folk. 


140  Sex  Worship  and  Symbolism 

Rivers,  W.  H.  R. :  The  Todas. 

Rhyn,  Dr.  Otto:  Mysteria. 

Roscoe,  John:  The  Northern  Bantu. 

Rocco,  Sha:  Ancient  Sex  Worship. 

Rousselet,  Louis:  India  and  Its  Native 
Princes. 

Spencer,  B. :  Native  Tribes  of  the  Northern 
Territory  of  AustraHa. 

Solas,  W.  J.:  Ancient  Hunters. 

Starcke,  C.  V.:  The  Primitive  Family. 

Stevens,  J.:  Central  America,  Chiapez  and 
Yucatan. 

Symonds,  J.  A. :  A  Problem  in  Greek  Ethics. 

Wissler,  Clark:  Symbolism  in  the  Decorative 
Art  of  the  Sioux. 

Westropp,  Hodder  M.:  Primitive  Sym- 
bolism. 

Wood,  Rev.  J.  G.:  The  Uncivihzed  Races. 

Wood-Martin:  Pagan  Ireland. 


INDEX 


Adaptations,   faulty,   131- 

132. 
Adjustment,  of  individual, 

129. 
Adonis,  sun  god,  75. 
American  Cyclopedia,  23. 
American       Museum       of 

Natural  History,  6. 
Anacalipsis,  38. 
Analogies      between      the 

Individual       and       the 

Race,  126. 
Ancient    Grove    Worship 

of  Assyria,  49,  71. 
Ancient  Sex  Worship,  25, 

30,41-  ^    ^ 

Androgyne  deity,  36,  68. 
Arapaho    Indians,    109. 

Bacchus,  representative  of 
male  generative  attri- 
bute, 22. 

Bacchanalia,  74,  78,  87, 
108. 

Bear,  sacred  animal,  loi. 

Bull,  phallic  significance 
of,  63. 

Bull  roarer,  nature  of,  99. 

Bureau  of  Amer.  Eth.,  5. 

Caves   of   Elephanta,    43. 
Ceremonial    objects,    con- 
ventionalization of,  109. 
Chinese  Review,  44. 


Collective  or  group  feeling, 
importance  of,   21. 

Collective  thought  of  the 
race,  relation  to  religious 
development,  17. 

Crux  Ansata,  51. 

Dairy,  sacredness  of,  100. 

Dances,  at  Witches'  Sab- 
bath, 89. 

Decadent  Sex  Worship,  79, 
81,  91,  113;  interpreta- 
tion of,  120. 

Deity,  female,  function 
of  in  Japan,  105. 

Deities,  Teutonic,  93. 

Dietrich,  A.,  120. 

Dionysia,  74,  78. 

Dionysus,  115. 

Dorsey,  G.  A.,  loi. 

Douglas,  N.,   121. 

Dragon,  relation  to  ser- 
pent, 45. 

Earth,  Worship,  114. 
Egg,  50,  62,  74. 
Eleusenia,  74,  77,  87,  108. 
Emasculation,    a   form   of 

worship,  31. 
Essay    on    the    Assyrian 

*' Grove,"  39. 


Female  deities,  115. 


141 


142 


INDEX 


Festivals  to  Increase  food 
supply,  98.^ 

Fire,  male  principle,  36. 

Fire  Worship,  36,  88; 
Identified  with  sex  wor- 
ship, 42. 

Fish,   phallic    significance, 

35- 
Frazer,  6,   17,  31,  32,  94, 
107. 

Gnostics,  early  secret 
society,  83;  phallic  amu- 
lets of,  90;  reversions  of, 
84. 

Goat,  priapic  animal,  88; 
Symbol    of    Khem,    25. 

Golden  Bough,  6.  (See 
Frazer.) 

Group  Thought,  113. 

Harrison,  J.,  6,  18,  99,  ioi> 
104,   107,  IIS,  116. 

Hearn,  L.,  52. 

Heraldry,  origin  of  sym- 
bols, 51. 

Hermes,  phallic  nature  of, 
36. 

Higgms,  38. 

Hitchcock,  R.,  105. 

Holy  Grail,  Symbolism  of, 

93- 
Homosexuality,    In   Greek 

life,  85;  practice  of  Rosi- 

cruclans,  84. 
Hopi  Indians,  loi,  102. 
Howe,  J.  W.,  125. 
Howitt,  A.  W.,  6. 


Initiative  magic,  104. 
India      and      its      Native 

Princes,  43. 
India   and  its  Faiths,   80. 
Indian  Religions,  48. 
Indians   of  the   Southwest, 

lOI. 

Infantile     reactions,     130. 
Initiation   ceremony,    115. 
Inman,  T.,_5,  50,  54. 
Interpretations      of      Sex 
Worship,  96. 

Japan,  an  attempt  at  In- 
terpretation, 52. 

Jennings,  H.,  5,  28,  42,  48, 
51,  62,  72,  92. 

Karnac,  26. 
Karpas,  M.  J.,  83. 
Khem,  description  of,  24. 
King,  C.  W.,  54. 
Knight,  R.  P.,  5,  27,  30, 

37,47,48,49,54,58,63, 

65,  83,  87,  90,  91. 
Knights     of    the     Round 

Table,  93. 
Knights  Templar,   phallic 

amulets  of,  90;  practices 

of,  86. 
Kroebler,  A.  L.,  109,  no. 


Layard,  A.,  60. 
LIngam  with  yoni,  41. 
Lost  god,  the,  75. 
Lotus,  significance  of,  56- 

58. 


INDEX 


143 


Male  date  palm,  signifi- 
cance of,  49. 

Matriarchy,  114. 

May-pole,  associated  with 
phallic  worship,  39,  47. 

Moon,  associated  with 
female  deity,  71. 

Mother    Earth,    70,    114. 

Mother  religion,  115,  116. 

Mutter  Erde,  1 20. 

Murray,  G.,  20. 

Mysteries,  teaching  of, 
78-79. 

Nature    Worship,    5,    97, 

108,  no. 
Newton,  J.,  39,  49,  71. 
Nineveh  and  Its  Remains^ 

60. 
North    American    Indians 

and    sun    worship,     70; 

nature  worship,  98,  108, 

109. 

Obelisk,  phallic  interpreta- 
tion, 38. 
O'Brien,  38,  56,  58. 
Obscure    Sex    Symbolism, 

36. 

Order  of  the  Garter,  93. 
Osiris,  76. 

Pan,    significance    of,    22. 
Patriarchy,   114,   116. 
Pepys,  S.,  48. 
Peet,  O.  S.,  108. 
Persephone,  77. 
Phallic    hand,    symbol    of 
prostitution,  91. 


Phallic   rites,   motive   for, 

106. 
Phallic    symbols,    27;    in 

art,  50. 
Phallic  Worship  in  China, 

44. 
Phallic  Worship,  nature  of 

23,  98. 
Phallus,   as   a   charm,   90, 

93;  as  a  decoration,  90. 
Plant  and  Flower  Symbols 

54. 

Pomegranate,  female  sym- 
bol, 55. 

Pratt,  J.  B.,  80. 

Priapiea,  87. 

Priapus,  disguises  of,  188. 

Primitive  motives,  con- 
tinuance of,  128;  rever- 
sion to,  134. 

Primitive    Symbolism,    28. 

Problem  in  Greek  Ethics,  85. 

Psyche^s  Task,  94. 

Puberty  Initiations,  103, 
115. 

Qualities  of  animal  and 
vegetable  nature  ven- 
erated, 39. 

Racial  feelings,  expression 
of.  In  religion,  19. 

Racial  Motives,  in  primi- 
tive religions,  19;  dyna- 
mic value  of,  123. 

Rain  making  rite,  99. 

Rawlison,  24. 

Reproduction,  motive  of, 
21. 


144 


INDEX 


Rhyn,  O.,  78. 

Rise  of  the  Greek  Epic,  20. 

Ritual,  motive  for,  106; 
related  to  food  supply, 
102,  103. 

Rivers,  W.  H.  R.,  6,  100. 

Robin    Goodfellow,    94. 

Rosicrucians,  42,  92. 

Rosicrucians,  phallic  amu- 
lets of,  90;  practices  of, 

84,  85,  93. 
Round  Towers  of  Ireland, 

38,  73. 
Rousselet,  43. 

Sacred  Animals,   60-65. 

Sacred  prostitution,  evi- 
dences of,  29. 

Satan,  at  Witches  Sabbath, 
88. 

Secret  Societies  for  deca- 
dent sex  worship,  83. 

Serpent  Worship,   61,   62, 

72,  73- 
Sex  Worship: 

An  unconscious  racial 
expression,  22;  bio- 
logical significance 
of,  96;  as  basis  of 
early  religions,  28; 
In  Africa  in  Mod- 
ern times,  26;  de- 
cadence of  in  Middle 
Ages,  90;  primitive 
form,  108;  influence 
in  present  thought, 
124;  part  of  evolution 
of  the  human   mind. 


23;  in  symbolism,  34; 
where    it    existed    as 
basis  of  early  religions, 
28. 
Sex  Worship  and  Nature 
Worship,    analogies    of, 
III ;  relation  of,  119. 
Sexual  act,  as  part  of  wor- 
ship, 27-28. 
Shinto,  or  the  mythology  of 

the  Japanese,  105. 
Smithsonian  Inst.,  6. 
Snake,  phallic  significance, 

of,  35.   . 
Socrates    in    the    light     of 
Modern  Psychopathology, 

83- 

Spencer,  6. 

Star  and  crescent,  54. 

Stonehenge,      significance 

of,  38,  69. 
Sun  Myth,  117. 
Sun  Worship,  36,  69,  72, 

73. 

Symbolic  Language  of 
Ancient  Art  and  Myth- 
ology,^  49,  59-  . 

Symbolism,  racial,  in  the 
individual,    133. 

Symonds,  J.  A.,  85. 


Themis,  6,  99,  116. 
Thunder  god,  99. 
Thunder  rites,  99. 
Todas,  the,  6,  100. 
Totem,  no. 
Tree  Worship,  48. 


INDEX 


145 


Upright  objects  as  phalli, 

37. 
Vegetation    spirit,    114. 

Water,    female    principle, 

36. 

Weathercock,    emblem   of 

the  sun,  50. 
Westropp,  H.  M.,  28,  45, 

55. 


Wilder,  A.,  59. 
Witchcraft,  92. 
Witches'    Sabbath,  nature 

of,  87,  92. 
Wissler,  C,  I02,  no. 
Worship  of  Priapus,  48,  83 

87,91.' 

Yam    ceremony,    103-104. 


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